The Emerald Heart
by the-Mad-Majesty-of-Muchness
Summary: When Jack and Elsa's children go missing, the family goes into a panic and the Guardians step in to help. But things are made even more difficult for Jack when Manny's new choice of Guardian turns out to be the girl he once had a crush on as a mortal—especially since the spark is still there. And what's this about an emerald heart...? Sequel to "Let the Storm Rage On."
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I am sooooooooo sorry about the wait on this, I just kind of lost my inspiration for a while, you know? But now I'm back on track! Okay, first off, if you are not familiar with the legends of Baba Yaga and/or Koshchei the Deathless, I would recommend going and looking those up before reading any further so that you're familiar with their background since I'm going to be using them as characters in this and since they will play such a major role. Just be aware that I created my own version of them for the purposes of this plot, but I would still recommend knowing their backgrounds. It will also help you understand why I chose the title I did.  
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**Also, remember that girl that Jack had memories of in "Let the Storm Rage On," Makenzie Harrison? She also plays a major role in this.**

**AND YOU'RE FINALLY GOING TO GET TO MEET THE KIDS, HURRAAAAAAAAY! :D**

**Okay, kids, disclaimer time!**

**I OWN NOTHING BUT KENZIE AND THE KIDS AND DENY EVERYTHING!**

* * *

><p><em>"Nikolaus Anthony Frost!" <em>a voice yelled. Isaak Bjorgman blinked, then grinned at his cousin.

"Ooooh," he said, "you're in trouble now, Klaus!" The three little girls with them all giggled, the smallest one latching onto Klaus's leg when he got up and tried to make a run for it. "Get off me, Senetta!" Klaus pleaded, but Senetta only shook her head, a wide grin on her little face. Just then, the doors to the room burst open, and Klaus flinched, knowing he was about to get a huge lecture, or worse, because in the doorway with her arms crossed and an angry look on her face stood his mother, the Queen of Arendelle herself, affectionately known to the people as the Snow Queen. To her family, however, she was, in the case of her three children, Mom, and in everybody else's case, Elsa.

And right now, she was _mad._

"Nikolaus," she said, "did you freeze the ballroom _again?"  
><em>"Um...no," Klaus replied.  
>"Nice try, but you're grounded."<br>"But _Moooooom!"  
><em>"No buts, Klaus! Gloves for two weeks, and that's final! I'll tape them onto you myself if I have to!"

"Aw, Elsa, cut the kid some slack, he was just having a little fun, that's all," a new voice said. Elsa rolled her eyes, watching her husband fly past her and into the room casually, everything about him looking totally relaxed. "He can't help it," Jack continued as he landed next to the kids, "if he gets a little out of control sometimes, he's still learning."

"Well, he needs to learn to have fun without leaving behind a mess for you and I to clean up," Elsa retorted. "And besides, Clara certainly doesn't seem to have any trouble!" She gestured to the older of her two daughters as she said this. The little girl giggled. "That's because boys are stupid, Mommy!" she said, and she, Lucia, and Senetta all burst out into a fit of giggles.

Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Well that's not very nice," he said.  
>"What isn't?" Kristoff asked as he and Anna came into the room to see what was going on.<br>"Clara just said that boys are stupid," Jack told him. Anna covered her mouth to stifle laughter while Kristoff frowned, then shrugged. "She's your daughter, not mine, so you fix it," he said. Elsa sighed and shook her head, wondering if there would ever be even one peaceful day in the castle without things getting frozen and the kids running around causing chaos. Then she remembered that no, there wouldn't, and it was silly to even think of such a thing happening, especially with Klaus and Jack as contributing factors. Jack had always been good at causing trouble, and Klaus took very much after his father in that he was good at getting himself in and out of trouble all the time; Elsa didn't know if it was a good or bad thing that he had inherited Jack's silver tongue, because he was awfully good at talking himself in and out of all sorts of situations.

"Now listen," she said, "Dad and I have to go to the North Pole to meet with the other Guardians, and we don't know how long we'll be gone, so we expect all three of you to behave for Uncle Kristoff and Aunt Anna until we get back, understand?"

She was met with a three-person chorus of "yes ma'am" in response, and then Jack came over and held out his hand to her. "Shall we, princess?" he asked. She placed her hand in his and returned his smile.

"You'll never stop calling me that, will you?" she asked.  
>Jack just chuckled and shook his head. "Now why would I do that?" he replied.<br>And then he opened a window, and, with Elsa's arms around his neck, took off into the sky.

* * *

><p>"Elsaaaaaaaaaaaa!" a voice cried, and then a colorful feathery blur launched itself at the queen and latched onto her, squeezing her tightly in a hug.<br>"Oof! Hi, Tooth!" Elsa said. "Good to see you too! Could you, uh, let go now please? It's getting a little difficult to breathe here."  
>"Toothiana, if you suffocate my wife, I'll strangle you," Jack said, and Tooth quickly let go, blushing a bit.<p>

"Glad to see you two could make it, O King of the Popsicles," Bunny said to Jack, who rolled his eyes exaggeratedly as he leaned on his staff, but made no comment. "So," Bunny continued, turning to North, "what's on today's agenda? Typical Solstice stuff, or is there something special thrown in?"

Even as he spoke, a beam of moonlight came in through the window, shining itself on the design on the floor that hid the Guardian Stone. Everyone took several steps back as the Stone rose up from the floor, eyes widening in both surprise and anticipation while Bunny chanted to himself, "Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog..."

But the figure that took shape was in no way animalistic. Rather, it was that of a young girl in a dress and cloak with long wavy hair.

North gasped lightly, a smile spreading onto his face as he realized that the figure was one he recognized. "The Fairy Godmother," Tooth said in an awed half-whisper, then turned to Elsa in excitement. "That means that we'll be just that much closer to having the same number of girls as we do guys, then we won't be so outnumbered anymore!" she said, and Elsa giggled.

"Yetis!" North bellowed. "Get the sack ready!"  
>"Oh, for the love of...I feel sorry for the girl," Jack muttered.<p>

* * *

><p>Makenzie loved to fly.<p>

Even after three hundred-something years, it never got old, the feeling never changed. She was proud of her glittery iridescent wings, even though she couldn't exactly show them off to anyone seeing how, well, she was invisible, but she was still proud of them, and she hated when, for whatever reason, she had to fold them up so they looked like a cloak. Unfortunately for her, now was one such time. It had started to rain, forcing her to land, and since she didn't want her wings to get drenched, she'd had to fold them up.

Now, she was in a sack.

She had been walking through a park, headed for the lake she lived near, when suddenly, two yetis had appeared out of seemingly no where and startled her out of her wits before one of them grabbed her and shoved her into the sack that the other was holding open. As she struggled to escape, protesting the entire time, she suddenly felt a sort of tugging sensation and heard a _whoosh_ing sound, then felt the sack get tossed onto the ground. It opened, though, so that was good.

"Well, I never!" she declared as she began crawling out. "That is absolutely no way at all to treat a person, much less one you know absolutely nothing about! And another thing! I—" She stopped short when she saw a large man with tattoos on his arms and a thick white beard smiling down at her. "Oh," she said, frowning, "it's you lot. Well, this is certainly unexpected, to say the least." She stood up and pushed hair behind her ears, smoothing out the skirt of her dress. "You know, you could really stand to learn some ma—"

"Makenzie?" a voice said. She turned and let out a small gasp. His appearance had changed since she'd last seen him, but she'd know him anywhere.

"Jack?" she said. "Is it really you? I thought...I thought you were dead."  
>"I was...dead," he replied. "I...You...But...How...I don't understand, 'Kenz."<p>

"Wait," Elsa said, "you two know each other?"  
>"We grew up together," they said at the same time.<br>"Right across the street," Jack elaborated. "We...She was my best friend."

"And now I see you have very different...friends," Makenzie said, glancing around the room at everyone.  
>"Jack is an <em>amazing <em>Guardian!" Tooth gushed. "And I'm sure you will be, too! Hi, I don't think we've ever been formally introduced, I'm Toothiana, but you can call me Tooth!"

"I know who you are," Makenzie said, "I know who all of you are. Except...Except you."  
>"My name is Elsa," the queen said. "I'm the Guardian of Love."<br>"She's also Queen of Arendelle, the Snow Queen," Tooth said, "oh, and Jack's wife, too, of course! And you should just see their kids, Lucia is the absolute cutest—"  
>"Tooth, chill!" Jack said. "Don't bombard the girl, you'll overload her! Too much information at once, we've talked about this, remember?"<p>

"I don't...understand why I'm here," Makenzie said.  
>"Oh, that's easy, mate!" Bunny replied. "You're here 'cause Manny picked you to be a Guardian!"<br>"M-Manny? Who's Manny?"  
>"The Man in the Moon, of course!" North said. "Manny is what we call him!"<p>

"I—I don't really think I'm cut out for what you six do, I mean..."  
>"It's okay, we just have to figure out what your center is," Elsa said. Makenzie looked at her quizzically. "Your center," Elsa repeated, "like, for example, how I'm the Guardian of Love, or how Jack is the Guardian of Fun. Those are our centers."<p>

"Mine is Memories!" Tooth piped up. "And Sandy's is Dreams!"  
>"Mine's Hope," Bunny added, "and the big guy's is Wonder."<br>"See," Elsa said, "we just have to figure out what yours is. Once you know, things will seem a lot easier, trust me."

"Um, guys," Jack said, "Elsa and I would love to stick around and chat, honest, but we better be getting home. It's getting late in Arendelle, and the kids will be expecting us home for bedtime stories and everything, otherwise the twins might just decide to freeze the castle solid."  
>"Klaus already froze the ballroom earlier," Elsa added with a roll of her eyes. Jack laughed, then turned it into a cough when he saw the look his wife was giving him.<p>

"Yeah, so, anyway," he said, "we better get going if there's nothing else that needs to be taken care of right now."  
>"I'll send one of the girls if we need you back," Tooth offered, and the King and Queen of Arendelle both smiled at her in thanks before leaving.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>So now you've met Makenzie and the kids, yay! Okay, just so we're clear on everything with the kids, Klaus and Clara are twins and they're the oldest, they're Jack and Elsa's. The next oldest is Isaak, Kristoff and Anna's son, then Lucia, who is the twins' sister, and finally, Isaak's sister Senetta is the youngest, and she's roughly the same size as Baby Anna.<br>**

**What do you think of Makenzie so far? We'll learn more of her story later...and her relationship with Jack, kekekekekekeke!**

**MEANWHILE, I'M PLOTTING TO BRING THE BAD GUYS IN PROBABLY NEXT CHAPTER, MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! XD**

**Please remember to review and tell me your thoughts so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: UUUUUUUUUmmmmmmm, I actually don't have much to say for once except that you'll have to excuse Matvei and Veta's grammar because English is not their first language, but other than that, not much, soooooooo...**

**I OWN NOTHING (except 'Kenzie and the kids) AND DENY EVERYTHING!**

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><p>"Mommy?"<br>"Yes, Lucia?"  
>"Will we ever get to go see the lanterns in Corona?"<br>"One day when you're older, I promise we'll take you."

Lucia smiled as Elsa leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before moving over to Clara's bed. Just like both her older siblings, Lucia had pale blonde hair, though she lacked the streaks of silver that the twins had, but unlike her brother and sister, who both had the same blue eyes as their mother, Lucia's eyes were brown, just as Jack's had been when he was human, and like his sister had, she also had a small beauty mark.

"Dad, I don't want to go to sleep," Klaus complained, "I'm not tired."  
>"You're more tired than you think," Jack retorted, and Klaus sighed dramatically, flopping back on his bed with his arms up. "When do I get my own room?" he asked. "I'm outnumbered in here. Why can't I share a room with Isaak, instead? Yeah, that'd be good! I can move in with Isaak and Senetta can move in here, why can't we do that?"<p>

"How about," Jack said, "we go on an all-boys adventure tomorrow, huh? You and me and Isaak and Uncle Kristoff, no girls allowed, how's that sound?"  
>"Can we take Sven with us?"<br>"Of course we can. And Olaf, too, if you want. But you have to go to sleep so you'll have enough energy for it, okay?"

Klaus sighed. "Okay," he said. Jack lifted up his son's shirt and blew a raspberry on his stomach, making Klaus laugh. "Dad, stop, that tickles!"  
>"Go to sleep now, Klaus," Jack said, kissing his temple. "I'll make sure Uncle Kristoff knows what we're doing tomorrow. We'll head out after breakfast, okay?"<p>

"Okay. Night, Dad."  
>"Night, Klaus. I love you."<p>

He and Elsa headed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind themselves.

"Yeah," Klaus whispered to himself in the darkness. "An adventure. Just like Aunt Anna and Uncle Kristoff got to have. My very own adventure..."

* * *

><p>If one had happened to be walking along a certain path in the forest that was across the fjord from Arendelle that night, one might have seen a flickering light among the trees, or heard one male and one female voice, both with thick Russian accents, arguing with each other.<p>

"Are you out of mind, Yelizaveta?!" the male voice demanded.  
>"These children could fuel us for centuries to come!" the woman responded.<br>"But prince and princesses!"  
>"Their parents are <em>Guardians, <em>Matvei!"  
>"Do you even know which?!"<br>"Guardians of Fun and Love!"

There was a pause as this sank in. "Jack Frost and Snow Queen," Matvei said finally, and Yelizaveta nodded slowly, seeing that he was beginning to see reason. Then he blinked and seemed to snap out of it. "No," he said, "is too risky. They have entire kingdom that will be missing them, we cannot risk it! Is too much at stake!"  
>"We have everything to gain, nothing to lose, what you think is at stake here, Matvei?! Lives?! We cannot be killed!"<p>

Matvei's black eyes seemed to blaze, his nostrils flaring. "We are _immortal, _Veta!" he yelled. "Immortal and cannot be killed is two different things! My death—"  
>"Why you always have to call it that, huh?! 'My death' this, and 'my death' that, why can't you call it what it is?! Is a heart, Matvei, is a stupid heart of emerald in a stupid chest on some stupid mountain under some stupid spells, why you have to carry on this 'my death' nonsense all the time, is infuriating! Look, you got to pick last child, now is my turn to pick, and I say we go for Frost children! No delay, we do this <em>tonight, <em>end of discussion!"

"Bah! _Glupyy zhenshchina, rasskazyvaya mne, chto delat' i komandovat' mnoy vokrug, nemnogo—"  
>"Zakroy svoy rot, bol'shoy urodlivyy grubuyu, my delayem eto, nravitsya vam eto ili net, tak sosat' yego uzhe, perdet'-golova!"<em>

Matvei continued to grumble unhappily under his breath in Russian, but he said nothing else to incur his sister's wrath any further. "Prepare yourself, Matvei," Veta said. "We strike within the hour."

* * *

><p>The next day dawned clear and sunny for Arendelle, and, as was so often the case, little Senetta was the first one up. Like her mother, Senetta Grace had red hair, but with her father's brown eyes, and just like Anna had as a child, she was prone to rising with the sun and then bothering her brother until he got out of bed, after which they would run down the hall to wake up their cousins, and then all five children would take off and go do heaven-knew-what until the everyone else got up and someone, either one of their parents or, more often than not, one of the servants, found them, usually quite on accident. Today was no different.<p>

"Isaak!" Senetta said, gripping the edge of her brother's mattress and struggling to pull herself up. "Isaak!" she repeated. On the third try, she managed to hoist herself onto his bed, then crawled up and sat down on top of him, straddling his torso as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Isaak, wake up!" she said.  
>"Go back to bed, 'Netta," Isaak mumbled.<p>

"I can't," Senetta replied, "the Man in the Moon went to bed, so the sun woke up, so _I _woke up, so we have to play!"  
>"But bed is my friend, 'Netta," Isaak said. He took after both his parents in that he had reddish blonde hair, but his eyes were all Anna, and his facial features leaned more towards Kristoff. He also took after Kristoff in that he was very well acquainted with his bed, and it was a relationship that he very much enjoyed the benefits of, hence the reluctance he always had to get up when Senetta began the morning routine of persuading him to do just that so they could go wake their cousins.<p>

Now, he rolled over and tried to push his sister off his bed, but she clung to the blankets stubbornly and climbed right back up, leaning over him with an adorable smirk on her face. "You wanna go feed Sven?" she asked, and Isaak opened his eyes.

He got up and the two of them ran barefoot down the hall to their cousins' room with Senetta in the lead. She stood on her tip-toes and reached for the doorknob, sticking her tongue out in effort, but she wasn't quite tall enough yet, so Isaak had to reach over her head and open it for her. "I'll wake up Klaus," he said, "you wake up Clara and Lucia, got it?" Senetta nodded eagerly, then darted into the room, going for the three beds lined up against the opposite wall and heading for the one in the middle, which belonged to Lucia, while Isaak ran for the bed on the left, which was Klaus's.

"Isaak!" Senetta said. "Lucia's not here!"  
>"Neither is Klaus," Isaak replied. "Quick, check Clara's bed!" Senetta stood up on Lucia's bed, then leaped across the space between it and Clara's bed. After determining that it, too, was empty, she shook her head at Isaak, who frowned. "Let's go wake up the grown-ups," he said. So after Senetta had jumped down from Clara's bed, she took the hand that Isaak held out to her and ran with him back out of the room, down the hall, and around the corner to their parents' room, where Isaak threw the door open, then set his sister loose to work her magic. As he began running towards his aunt and uncle's room, he heard behind him, "Mommy, Daddy, wake up, wake up, wake up, it's a 'mergency!"<p>

Meanwhile, Isaak himself ran into Jack and Elsa's room, hurrying over to the bed and shaking Jack's arm. "Uncle Jack!" he said. "Uncle Jack, wake up!"

"Huh? Isaak? What's going on?"  
>"Lucia and the twins are gone!"<p>

That woke Jack right up. "Hang on, Isaak," he said, "we'll be right there." Isaak turned and ran back out of the room as Jack began to gently shake his wife. "Elsa," he said, "Elsa, honey, wake up, the kids are gone."

"Five more minutes, Jack..."  
>"Elsa, did you hear me? The kids are gone!"<p>

She sat up her eyes wide. Her hair, which she wore long an loose at night, was wild from sleep, and she had to push it out of her eyes. "The kids are what?!" she cried. Without waiting for a response, she threw the covers back and took off running from the room, Jack following close at her heels, too preoccupied with worry for the thought of flying to even cross his mind. Just at that moment, Olaf appeared rubbing his eyes and yawning, then blinking when he saw Anna and Kristoff following Elsa and Jack. "Hey, where's everybody going?" he wondered out loud, and then began to follow the crowd to find out what was happening and why everyone was in such a huge rush.

Elsa was the first one into her childrens' bedroom, and she ran straight for Klaus's bed. Finding it empty, she moved to Lucia's, and finally, Clara's while Jack stood by and watched with wide eyes. After finding all three beds to be empty, Elsa looked up and met his eyes, shaking her head as Kristoff and Anna appeared in the doorway, Anna's hair looking even more wild and out of control than her older sister's. Jack's shoulders fell as he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. Then, suddenly, Elsa's face became angry. "Klaus, girls!" she called. "If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny! You have to the count of three to come out of hiding, you hear me? One...two...two-and-a-half..."

"Elsa," Jack said softly, going over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders from behind. "I don't think they're hiding, princess, they wouldn't do that sort of thing, they know better."  
>"Then where <em>are <em>they?" Elsa demanded of nobody in particular, her voice growing increasingly distressed by the minute.

"Look!" Olaf said as he came into the room. Everyone turned to see what he was pointing at. Laying on the floor in a beam of weak early-morning sunlight that was streaming through a windowpane was a small object that glinted and reflected the light off its surface, which was what had caught Olaf's attention in the first place. Jack knelt to pick it up, holding it in the palm of his hand and examining it.

"Clara's locket," he said, and then held it up for Elsa to see. Sure enough, dangling from his hand by the chain was a silver heart-shaped locket with a snowflake engraved on the front. It had been a birthday present from Jack one year, and Clara had worn it every day since, only taking it off to bathe. To find the locket, but no Clara was very strange indeed, and what was perhaps even stranger was the fact it had been on the floor. Clara would never be so careless with it; when she took it off to bathe, she always put it with the clothes that were set out for her to put on afterwards.

"There's something else," Kristoff said, pushing past everyone and heading over to the window that, until then, they had all been to panicked to realize was open. He picked something up off the window sill and held it up for the others to see. It proved to be some kind of pendant. "Hang on," he said, "there's something engraved on the back. Initials, looks like. 'Y.P.K.'"  
>"Let me see that," Jack said, holding his hand out. Kristoff passed it over to him, and the Winter Spirit peered at it closely.<p>

"The designs on this thing look Russian," he said. "Maybe if we took it to North, he could help us figure something out."  
>"That's not much of a lead, though," Anna said, and Jack frowned as he considered this.<br>"Well right now, it's our _only _lead," Elsa replied. "It's better than nothing."

"You don't think it was...?" Anna trailed off, leaving the question hanging, though she didn't have to finish for her sister or their husbands to know who she meant.  
>"No," Jack said, "it couldn't be. He's all sealed up nice and tight, not going anywhere anytime soon. Besides, this doesn't reek of his signature stench, you know what I mean?"<p>

"So what are we going to do, what's the plan?" Kristoff asked.  
>"Elsa and I will<em>—<em>"  
>"Jack, look," Elsa interrupted.<p>

He turned to see what she was pointing at. From the window, the northern lights could be seen in the sky. "Perfect timing," he muttered to himself. "Let's go, princess."

Jack and Elsa got dressed as quickly as they could, Elsa not bothering to put her hair in its usual braid, instead just running her brush through it so it wasn't quite so wild, then ran out into the main courtyard out front, Anna, Kristoff, Isaak, Senetta, and Olaf following behind them.

"Kristoff, Anna, don't let Isaak and Senetta out of your sight, just in case," Elsa said.  
>"If anyone tries to take my kids, I will kick their a<em>—<em>" Anna stopped, realizing that both children were right there. "Uh...butt!" she finished. Elsa smiled at her sister, then turned and took Jack's hand, running a small distance across the courtyard with him, and just like that, for the second day in a row, the King and Queen of Arendelle took off into the sky together.

* * *

><p>Jack and Elsa, upon arriving at the North Pole, entered their usual way, which was through the window with Jack carrying Elsa piggyback-style. Makenzie was still there, and they'd been beaten by Bunny and Sandy, so only Tooth was missing by the time they got there. North was pacing around in front of the Globe muttering incoherently to himself with a rather disgruntled look on his face, Bunny was rubbing a boomerang against his fur to polish it, Sandy was watching North, and Makenzie was watching a group of elves do who-knew-what and giggling in amusement at them.<p>

"What's wrong with North?" Elsa asked.  
>"Dunno, mate," Bunny replied. "He's been like this since I got here 'bout twenty minutes ago, hasn't looked at any of us a single time. Oh, Tooth, there you are!"<p>

"North!" Jack said, flying into his path as he turned to begin another round of pacing, then dodging out of the way so he wouldn't get run over when that failed to get North's attention. He thought for a moment, then came up with an idea and flew up behind North, whacking him on the head with the curved end of his staff.

"Ouch! What the_—_Jack! What was that for?!"  
>"North, listen, Klaus and the girls are missing. The window in their bedroom was open, and Kristoff found this sitting on the sill. It looks Russian, so I thought you might be able to tell us something about it, give us a lead."<p>

"What? The kids are missing?!" Tooth said.  
>"Everyone stop saying it like that!" Elsa cried, putting her hands over her ears as she turned away, distress written all over her face. "I can't stand to hear it put like that! It makes it sound as if they're gone for good, I can't stand it!"<p>

While Jack hurried over to comfort his wife, North studied the pendant closely, then sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes widened. "This is Yelizaveta's amulet," he breathed. Everyone looked at him in confusion, which quickly turned to anger in Elsa's case as she pulled away from Jack, fists balled. "If this Yelizaveta person has my children, I'll kill her!" she said.

"Who is she?" Jack demanded. "Where do we find her?"  
>"You don't!" North said. "Not her or Matvei, they're wanderers, and besides, they're dangerous!"<br>"North," Elsa said as she deflated, "please. If there's any chance of getting them back, any at all..."  
>Everyone turned to look at North expectantly. "Baba Yaga," he said finally, "and Koshchei the Deathless."<p>

"Wait, what?"  
>"Huh?"<br>"What'd he say?"  
>"I don't get it."<br>"Baby what now?"

"Baba Yaga and Koshchei the Deathless!" North repeated. "The old Russian legends! They are based in fact, just like all of us! They are brother and sister named Matvei and Yelizaveta Kovaleski, born during the Dark Ages and made immortal by unknown force! I met them once, did not realize who they really were until they did something that tipped me off. Baba Yaga, in the myths, is said to kidnap and eat misbehaved children, but that is not entirely true! They draw power from the faith and innocence of Believers, you understand, so every once in great while, they find someone with such great faith, such a pure heart, that the only way to truly benefit is to kidnap them. This amulet! I recognize it! It belongs to Yelizaveta! They must have taken Lucia and twins!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!<strong>_

**...lol, you have me for this? XP Okay, here's the translation of what Matvei and Veta said in Russian:**

**Matvei: **Stupid woman, telling me what to do and bossing me around, little—  
><strong>Veta: <strong>You shut your mouth, you big ugly brute, we are doing this whether you like it or not, so suck it up already, fart-head!

**I tried to make this chapter longer, and I think I did an okay job, but idk, whatevs. And just to clarify, if you recall from "Let the Storm Rage On," Clara is my name for Jack's younger sister, so I named their daughter Clara after her. Most of the kids are named after someone who's passed away in the family, if it's not their first name, it's their middle name. The exceptions to this are Senetta, who isn't named after anyone, and Lucia, who also isn't named after anyone unless you count the Swedish saint from like the 13th or 14th century and/or Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera, because her middle name is Christine. But, like...**

**Nikolaus Anthony: My name for Jack's dad is Anthony  
>Clara Magdalena: Jack's sister and Elsa's mom<br>Isaak James: Kristoff and Anna's dads**

**So yeah. That's how I came up with the kids' names.**

**Um...I think that's it, so...yeah. Hope you're enjoying so far, please remember to review, or Veta and Matvei might come and kidnap you, too!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Okay, so I realized while reading back over the live preview of the last chapter that I had forgotten to have Jack and Elsa get dressed before leaving for the North Pole, and I figured I ought to fix that so that Elsa wasn't going in her nightgown or anything, so I went back and I changed some of what happened just before the third break right after Jack said, "Let's go, princess" and before Anna almost cussed in front of Isaak and Senetta, so if you're interested or curious or anything, feel free to go back and read the new version of it. Other than that bit, though, the chapter is still the same.  
><strong>

**And in this chapter, we're going to learn more of Makenzie's story and what her relationship with Jack was like when they were mortal.**

**I OWN NOTHING YOU RECOGNIZE FROM A MOVIE AND DENY EVERYTHING**

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><p>For several beats, there was total silence. Then, with a determined look on his face, Jack asked, "How do we find them?"<br>"It's not so simple, Jack," North replied, "it's..." He trailed off into a heavy sigh. "I was worried of this," he said, and pulled a folded piece of what looked like parchment out of his pocket, holding it out to Jack. "This," he said, "is why I summoned everyone." Jack took it from him. It was wrinkled, as if it had been folded and unfolded many times without mercy. And now, Jack unfolded it yet again.

"It's in Russian," he said, shaking his head. He held it out back to North. "You know I can't read that," he said.  
>"It's from them," North said. "They are planning something."<p>

"What?" Tooth asked, and North shrugged his massive shoulders.  
>"I don't know!" he said. "We have to figure it out and stop it!"<br>"Uh, yes, well, have fun with that," Makenzie said as she rose from her seat. "Wish I could stay, really, but you know, things to do, places to_—_"

She had been heading for the window, flexing her wings on the way, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, suspecting she knew exactly who it belonged to. When she turned, this suspicion was only confirmed by the sight of Jack standing there looking at her. "'Kenz," he said, "I know what it's like to feel like you don't belong with this group, but trust me. If Manny says you're a Guardian, you're a Guardian. Please. Stay here. Help us find my kids. I'm sure we could use all the help we can get with this. Please?"

Her wings drooped, going partially into their cloak appearance. "I saved Clara and Gareth," she said, "but not myself. How can I be expected to save three kids when I could barely save two? For that matter, how can I be expected to protect millions of kids all over the world? You see, Jack? I'm not cut out to be a Guardian." Without waiting for a response, she turned and flew out the window.

"'Kenzie, wait! Makenzie!"  
>Without even thinking about it, Jack took off after her, riding the winds as fast as he could until he finally caught up with her. He flew up over her head, then dropped altitude until he was in front of her in a very relaxed lounging position going backwards, staff in one hand. "Hey there, how's it goin'?" he asked casually, and she gasped in surprise, coming to a sudden stop mid-air. Jack quickly did the same, then reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Come with me, let's land so we can talk," he said, and began leading her towards the ground with Makenzie protesting the entire way.<p>

"Jack, let go of me right now, I mean it!" she said as they landed.  
>"First you have to promise me you won't fly off again," he retorted. Makenzie rolled her eyes, but consented to this. As soon as Jack opened his mouth to speak, however, she flapped her wings and began lifting off from the ground, only for him to once again grab her wrist and pull her back down before she was even a foot in the air.<p>

"Fold the wings," he said.  
>"What? No."<br>"Fold them."  
>"Why should I?"<br>"Fold. The wings."  
>"Oh...fine!"<p>

"Makenzie, what happened to you? You used to be so...so happy, so_—_"  
>"You wanna know what happened, Jack? You died, and then I got killed. I had a massive crush on you, and then you went and drowned and your body was never recovered, and two years later, Gareth and Clara and I got jumped by highwaymen while we were taking a walk, and I just barely got them to safety before I ended up getting stabbed and left for dead, and I was only nineteen. <em>That's <em>what happened. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I've spent the last three hundred-something years wandering around by myself completely invisible except to other creatures like me, and the entire time, I never got over that crush on you, and then all of a sudden, there you are, and you're every bit as perfect as I remember you, but it's just my luck that, oh, _you're married. _So excuse me for not wanting to put myself through the emotional trauma of _that_ awkward little situation."

"I...'Kenz, I don't...I don't know what to say, I mean...I had a crush on you, too."  
>"Why didn't you ever say anything, then, huh?"<br>"I was going to, but I never got the chance!"  
>"Don't get all defensive with me!"<br>"You jumped all over me!"  
>"Did not!"<br>"Did too!"  
>"Did not!"<br>"Did too!"  
>"Did no<em>—<em>"

"Enough!" Jack said finally. "Look, you're...you're mad, okay, I get it! Believe me, I get it! It's not fair to get thrown into this immortality thing with so little information, and trust me, I know how Manny is about that, all he told me when I first got revived was my name, I couldn't remember anything, so that was all I had, I had to figure the rest out all on my own, so I know what it's like! But Makenzie, please, help me with this! Help me find my kids, help me get them back safely, please, I'm begging you! 'Kenzie, please, I...I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost any of them. It's bad enough that we don't even know whether or not any of them are immortal, but if these psychotic Russians North told us about do anything to them...Jeez, I can't...I can't stand to even think about it!"

Makenzie held her breath for a long moment, then let it out as her shoulders deflated. "Fine," she said, "you win. I'll stay."  
>"Thank you," Jack said, relief written all over his face. He put a hand on her shoulder, making her look up. "We were so close, Makenzie," he said. "We can be that way again. Just because some things have changed doesn't mean that everything has to. The way I feel about Elsa...it doesn't make me care less for you. I <em>do <em>still care. Honest. Now...come on. Let's head back, shall we?" He held his hand out to her, and when she looked at his face, she couldn't help but smile before placing her hand in his and following him back up into the air.

When they got back, Elsa was curiously missing, and when Jack asked where she'd gone, Bunny explained that they had decided it was probably best if Anna and Kristoff got Isaak and Senetta out of Arendelle in case Matvei and Yelizaveta decided to go back and try to take them, as well, so Elsa had used a snowglobe to travel back home and tell them as much. Not much longer, a portal opened, and Elsa came through with Anna and Kristoff on her heels, Kristoff carrying Senetta and Anna carrying Isaak.

"Oh, who's this?" Anna asked upon seeing Makenzie.  
>"Anna, this is Makenzie," Jack said, "'Kenzie, this is my sister-in-law Anna, her husband Kristoff, and their kids, Isaak and Senetta."<br>"Jack and Makenzie knew each other growing up," Elsa explained. "Manny chose her as the next Guardian."

"Ooh, fun! What's her center?"  
>"We don't know yet."<p>

"So does this mean Makenzie is staying, then?" Tooth asked.  
>Makenzie nodded. "I'm staying," she said, and Tooth clapped in delight.<p>

"Okay," Bunny said, "so what's the plan here?"

There was a beat or two of silence as everyone looked around at each other. "Kids," Anna said finally, "why don't you go play with some of the elves for a while, let the grown-ups talk, okay?"  
>"Okay, Mama," Senetta said.<br>"Isaak, keep an eye on your sister."  
>"I know, Mom."<p>

After Isaak and Senetta had gone from the room, Anna and Kristoff were brought up to speed on what was known so far, which, of course, wasn't much, and then North began examining the amulet again. "We might be able to track Yelizaveta with this," he said, "but it won't be easy."

"We'll take anything we can get," Jack said. "These guys picked the wrong dad to piss off."  
>"They picked the wrong mom, too," Elsa added, crossing her arms.<br>"Once we find them, we'll need a way to defeat them, right?" Makenzie asked.

"That is where Matvei's death comes in," North said.  
>"His <em>what?" <em>Bunny asked incredulously.

"His death," North repeated. "The reason he is called Koshchei the Deathless is because his life force, which he calls his death, is separate from Matvei himself. We have to destroy his death to defeat him."

"Okay, well, how do we do that?"  
>"First we must find it."<br>"That figures. Don't suppose these legends of yours tell us where it is?"  
>"Not exactly."<br>"Thought as much."

"In the legends," North said, "his death is an emerald heart that he keeps locked in a chest buried on a mountain in Russia, protected by layers of spells."  
>"So we have to go all the way to <em>Russia?" <em>Kristoff demanded. "We'll all freeze to death! Well, except for our two icicles over there! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Which mountain?" Jack and Elsa said at the same time.  
>"I don't know. The legends don't name any specific mountain. I suspect, though, that it would be in the Caucus mountain range, because according to the stories, that is where Koshchei lives. I know there would be a large oak tree. It's always buried under an oak tree in the stories, usually hidden under the roots. Whoever possesses this emerald heart controls Koshchei. He weakens, becomes sick, loses his powers."<p>

"Okay, let me get this straight," Tooth said. "So we have to go to Russia, find an oak tree on a mountain, dig up the roots and find this chest, take this emerald heart, destroy it, and then, and _only then_ we can defeat these people and save the kids?"

"Destroying the heart will kill Matvei, but not Yelizaveta," North corrected.  
>"Then how do we defeat her?!" Elsa demanded, throwing her arms out.<br>"That, I do not know," North said. "The stories do not tell us. But, what I do know is this; She has no power over the pure of heart, or over those who are protected by the power of love, virtue, or a mother's blessing. I would not worry too much about Klaus and the girls."

"He's right," Anna said, stepping forward and taking her sister's hands in her own. "No child on Earth is more loved than these three are. You know why?"  
>"Ooh!" Tooth said as she caught on to Anna's meaning, raising one hand in the air. "I know! Pick me, pick me! Because no other child has the <em>Guardian <em>of Love as their mother!"  
>"They've got a good point, mate," Bunny said. "And besides, even if that wasn't a factor, pure of heart sure is. Kids have got the purest hearts on the planet."<br>"Okay, so we'll figure out how to off the psycho bitch later," Jack said, quickly drawing one finger across his neck in the universal pantomime gesture of cutting a head off. "In the meantime, I guess the next big question would be where they're keeping the kids. North, do these stories have _anything _that might be a clue to that sort of thing? Anything at all?"

North thought for several moments, going back over everything he could remember about the legends of Baba Yaga and Koshchei the Deathless in his head until finally, his blue eyes lit up and he smiled as it hit him. "Maria Morevna!" he said. "Of course! In one story, there is a warrior princess named Maria Morevna. The hero of the story, Ivan, he marries her, and after a while, she tells him she is going to war and not to open the door of the dungeon in the castle they live in. He is overcome with curiosity and disobeys her, and he finds Koshchei chained. There is some truth to the story, and the castle still stands, Matvei and Yelizaveta use it from time to time for whatever purpose they may have. I would bet a whole Christmas's worth of cookies that this is where they take the children they kidnap since the hut from the Baba Yaga stories is just a myth!"

"Perfect! So, do you know where this castle is?"  
>"Somewhere near the Caucus mountains, I would imagine."<p>

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere!" Kristoff said. "So let me see if I've got everything straight. What we know so far is that the kids were taken by two Russian nutballs, one of them was careless enough to drop something we can track them with, we have to go to Russia, we have to find and destroy an emerald heart to beat one of them, and they most likely took the kids to a castle near some mountains. Did I get everything?"

"Sounds right to me," Makenzie said.  
>"Actually," Elsa said, "Kristoff, I don't think you and Anna should come to Russia. I mean, first off, we don't want anything to happen to either of you...again." She added the last word almost as an afterthought, and Kristoff grimaced, remembering how Hans had managed to incapacitate him with a leg injury and how Pitch had almost killed Anna (and succeeded in doing so to Elsa in the process) the last time they had been up against a big enemy. "And besides," Elsa continued, "if all of us go, who's going to stay behind to watch Isaak and Senetta and keep them safe?"<br>"...You're right," Kristoff said. "I hadn't even thought of that, but you're right."

"So I guess it's decided, then," Jack said. "Anna and Kristoff will stay here at the Pole and keep an eye on Isaak and Senetta while the rest of us go to Russia to do what needs to be done and get Klaus and the girls back."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Makenzie worried about what would happen if they got there too late, but she was too excited by the prospect of going on an adventure like the ones she and Jack pretended to have as kids to really pay attention to it.

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><p><strong>Yeah, so as you can tell, this story uses a lot of Slavic folklore and old Russian myths in the plotline. And also, if you haven't read the story that this is a sequel to, then you won't have any idea what that deal was with Hans and Pitch that got mentioned. Said story can be found on my profile for those who have not yet read it and would like to do so, and as is indicated in the summary of this story, it is called "Let the Storm Rage On." It will be the ninth story down on the list.<br>**

**ALSO, for those wondering, this story is rated T because I do tend to use a bit of language every now and then (i.e. "psycho bitch" being used in this chapter) in my writing, and so that's why most of my stories are rated T.**

**And one more thing! If you would like to know where I'm getting most of my Koshchei and Baba Yaga info from, don't hesitate to ask, I'll be glad to share the site with you. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: To my four followers, three favoriters, and one reviewer on this story, THANK YOU. You know who you are, so THANK YOU.  
><strong>

**Also, just so you know, you're going to see Klaus call Lucia "Luc" pretty early on here, and that should be pronounced like the word "loose," because he's shortening her name, which, of course, has the soft C sound.**

**I DISCLAIM!**

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><p>"I want my mommy!"<br>"Yeah, me too!"  
>"Me three!"<p>

"Quiet, all of you!" Veta snapped. She was at the end of her wits. It almost wasn't worth it, everything she'd been put through since the previous night. First, she'd discovered her amulet was missing and realized the faulty clasp must have been responsible. Then, she and Matvei had found out through none-too-pleasant means that the older two Frost children possessed the same abilities as their parents to control the winter elements. And if that wasn't bad enough, the younger one wouldn't stop whining and complaining and making demands for her mother, and not only that, but the little brat had actually had the nerve to bite Veta's leg at one point, and instead of doing anything about it, Matvei, her own brother, had simply laughed! She'd had just about all she could take, and would almost even be willing to let the little pests go free rather than deal with any more of their nonsense.

_Almost._

But they had reached the castle in Russia, finally, and the children were now locked away in the dungeon where she didn't have to deal with them except when it was her turn to feed them. "Here," she said, throwing a loaf of bread at them. "Eat that and shut up for a while, will you? Bah, I cannot stand your constant noise! You are very bad behaved for royalty, you know that? Very bad behaved! Ach!" She leapt out of the way to avoid a blast of ice from the little boy, both of his sisters bursting into laughter. "Will you stop that already?!" Veta shouted. "Ice here, snow there, do you ever stop?!"

"It's not our fault if you're fun to mess with!" the older girl said, then gasped when she saw the glare that Veta was giving her. Without saying a word, Veta turned on her heel and marched out of the dungeon, slamming the door behind herself..

"She's scary," Clara said when she was gone.  
>"Yeah," Lucia said, "but the big man is scarier!"<br>"But at least he doesn't yell all the time," Klaus added, and after a moment, Lucia had to agree with him on this. "Do you think Mommy and Daddy are coming to save us?" she asked.  
>"Of course they are, silly!" Clara told her. "I'll bet they're on their way right now, in fact, and all the other Guardians are with them, and so's Baby Tooth!"<br>"I wish I wasn't in my pajamas," Klaus said suddenly, looking down at his attire rather forlornly, and the girls giggled in response.

"I'm hungry," Lucia announced, "so I'm going to eat now." Having said this, she picked up the loaf of bread and was about to bite into it when Klaus suddenly took it from her. "Hey!" she protested. "Klaus, give it back, I'm hungry, I wanna eat!"  
>"Wait a minute, Luc," he said, and then proceeded to break the bread into three pieces as evenly as he could manage, giving one part of it to each of his sisters and keeping the last part for himself. As he sat down to eat, something suddenly dawned on him; Being the only boy meant that he had to protect Clara and Lucia.<p>

Sure, Clara had powers, too, but Lucia didn't. Lucia, who was also the youngest. And in a way, Klaus was sort of older than Clara; he'd been born about five minutes before she had, so technically, that meant he was oldest out of all three of them, and if there was one thing Klaus knew, it was that the big brother or sister always had to protect the little one, and in this case, that meant that he had to protect his sisters. Besides, Clara wasn't as good at thinking up crazy things to do with her powers as he was. She had that mischievous glint in her eye that Klaus and their dad both had, but Clara had always been more on the laid back side like their mom; Klaus was the one that a person really had to watch out for, always getting into things, sneaking in and out of places he didn't belong, playing tricks and freezing things solid, like that time he'd covered Aunt Anna's new dress in a layer of frost on the day of the ball she planned on wearing it to, then Mom had had to un-frost it while Dad went on a hunt to find where Klaus had run off to hide.

Where ever they were, Klaus hoped that Mom and Dad would hurry. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to protect the girls, or if he would be any good at it in the first place...

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><p>"I <em>told<em> you, Clara married Gareth, get it through your head!"  
>"But she had a crush on <em>Adam, <em>not Gareth!"  
>"People don't always marry their crushes, Jack!"<br>"She and Gareth couldn't stand each other, it makes no sense!"  
>"Haven't you ever heard of a lovers' spat?!"<p>

Everyone was piled into the sleigh flying through the sky, and in the back, this had been going on for quite a while as Makenzie told Jack about various things that had happened to the people in his mortal life after his death, and he had been quite shocked to learn that his sister had married Makenzie's little brother, and it had sparked a very heated conversation between them.

"Okay, then how many kids did they have, huh, tell me that!"  
>"Two sons, one named after you and one named after my dad. And they had five grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. I know because I went and checked up on each generation right up until most of them moved away from Burgess. So there. Ha! And again, ha! In your face, Frost!"<p>

"Aw, no fair! How come you and Elsa can remember stuff from before you died, but I couldn't until after I opened my Tooth Box?!" Jack demanded. Makenzie leaned over to look at Elsa, who was sitting to Jack's right while she herself was on his left. "Elsa, you died, too?" she asked in disbelief, and the Snow Queen nodded. "This guy called Pitch dropped Anna into a gorge," she said, "and Tooth saved her, but not before I panicked and threw myself over the edge to try and save her myself. I died from the fall, and Manny brought me back."

"Took his sweet time doing it, too," Jack said bitterly, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat, a sour expression on his face. "I spent hours down there just holding onto her and crying, thinking I'd lost her for good. I'd barely known her two weeks and I was already head-over-heels for her, but I didn't even get to tell her before it happened." Elsa put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned, his face softening. "It doesn't matter now, Jack," she said, "it's over, Pitch can't bother us anymore. Like you said, he's sealed up nice and tight, remember?" Jack smiled. He didn't say anything in response, instead just leaning over and kissing his wife. Makenzie looked away.

What had she been thinking, agreeing to stick around and help? She wasn't Guardian material! And besides, it was more than that. While Jack had clearly moved on from his, Makenzie couldn't bring herself to let go of the crush she'd had for over three hundred years, and she was only putting herself through more emotional trauma than it was worth by hanging around and seeing him with Elsa. He loved someone else. Fine. He was married. Fine. He had three kids. _Fine. _But why should she have to suffer for it? How was it fair that the people she cared about got to be happy in return for Makenzie herself suffering? First Clara and Gareth got to live at the expense of her death, now this! Okay, so fairy godmothers were supposed to bring people happiness and make wishes come true. But if she herself had to suffer for it, was it fair for the fairy godmother? Was it worth it? And what about fairy godmothers? Was Makenzie really _the _fairy godmother, the only one? Could she even qualify as one at all with her lack of wand, or was she just a fairy? And again, there was the question of her center. Did she even have one, she wondered? If she did, how in the name of all that was holy would she even begin going about figuring out what it was?

Oh, so many questions, so few answers...It made her head hurt just thinking about it.

"Jack?" she said out loud. "How...How did you figure out your center?"  
>"My center?" he echoed. "Oh. A little boy named Jamie told me he was scared and it triggered a memory of Clara saying the same thing."<br>"What about you, Elsa?"  
>"Oh, I had accidentally frozen Arendelle totally solid, and, see, the thing about love is that it can thaw a frozen heart. 'Love will thaw.' When I realized that, I was able to unfreeze the kingdom, and that was also when it dawned on me that Love was my center."<p>

"It was _amazing!" _Tooth cut in. "All the snow and ice went up into the sky and there was a giant glittering snowflake and then sparkles everywhere, it was awesome!"  
>"It was pretty impressive," Bunny said. Sandy tugged on Elsa's sleeve to get her attention, then made an oddly shaped picture over his head. "Oh yeah!" Elsa said. "Once you figure it out and take the oath to become an official Guardian, you'll also get a <em>babushka <em>doll that looks like you to represent your center!"

"A what now?" Makenzie asked.  
><em>"Babushka <em>doll!" everyone chorused.  
>"A Russian nesting doll!" Tooth explained. "We all have one, and the smallest doll represents our center!"<br>"Speaking of Mother Russia," North said, "she lies straight ahead! Prepare for landing!"

"Oh no..." Bunny muttered, and as the sleigh tilted nose-down, he hunkered down as low as he could get in the floorboards, curling up into a ball and gripping his ears tightly, teeth clenched as his eyes darted around, not understanding how Jack could be throwing his arms up and smiling with borderline-demented glee yelling, "WOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs. Then, with a jolt, they landed, and it was over, but Bunny still stayed in that position, paralyzed by the terror of the adrenaline rush. He sat there, aware of everyone else getting out, but unable to make his muscles obey and follow their lead. Jack and North had to practically force his limbs to uncurl and pry his paws off his ears, then North lifted him out of the sleigh and set him down on his feet.

"Is he okay?" Makenzie asked, jabbing a thumb in Bunny's direction. "Oh, he's fine," Jack said, waving a hand dismissively, "he just doesn't like flying. Give him a minute or two and he'll be right back to himself, I guarantee it."

"Welcome," North said, throwing his arms out, "to the Caucus mountains, my friends!"  
>"So, what now?" Tooth asked. "We just find this oak tree, dig up the chest, destroy the heart, and boom, no more Matvei guy?" Elsa crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at her feathered friend. "Oh, honestly, Tooth," she said, "you think it'll be that simple? It's <em>never<em> that simple, you should know that by now." Tooth and Baby Tooth both deflated as the truth of the Snow Queen's words sank in.

"We will have to break the layers of spells protecting it," North said.  
>"Okay, and how exactly do we do that?" Bunny asked, finally recovering from his ordeal.<br>"With Makenzie, of course!" North replied, and everyone turned to look at the girl in question, who blinked.

"Who," she said, _"me? _But I...I don't—"  
>"Oh, I get it!" Jack announced suddenly. "It's because she's the Fairy Godmother, right? She can do magic because of that! You can do magic, can't you, 'Kenz?"<br>"Of course I can!" Makenzie declared, putting her hands on her hips indignantly, clearly somewhat offended by the implication that she couldn't. "Just because I don't have a wand, that doesn't mean I can't do magic! I'll have you know that wand is nothing but a silly myth. Unlike you and that staff of yours, Jack, I don't need anything but my bare hands to do magic, watch!"

So saying, she held a hand out and blasted him right in the face with a rosy cloud of shimmering dust, making him jerk back a few steps as he sputtered and coughed, waving his hand around to try and clear the air in front of his face. "Hey, that's not very nice!" he complained. "And for your information, the staff is not the source of my powers, it's just a conduit! I could do my magic without it if I had to, it's just easier to do _with_ it, that's all!"

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty, can we figure out a plan now?!" Tooth said loudly, getting in between the two.  
>"If there's one thing I know about mountains from growing up surrounded by them," Elsa said, "it's that there are no oak trees, only pine. So if we're looking for an oak tree on a mountain, it shouldn't be that hard. We'll probably know it as soon as we see it, seeing how it would be logical to assume that it's the only oak tree on any of these mountains. It's just a question of figuring out which mountain we need to be looking on, that's all."<p>

"And how do you recommend we go about figuring that out?" Makenzie asked. There was a pause as everyone looked around at each other. Sandy shrugged and shook his head. "I could fly up and take a look," Jack volunteered finally, gesturing up to the sky with his staff. "I'll come with you!" Tooth said, raising her hand with an eager look on her face. "Sandy, you wanna come, too?" she asked, and Sandy nodded in response. Makenzie glanced around. "I...I'll come," she said.

"Ooh, perfect!" Tooth replied. "Then we can split into pairs and cover more ground, so to speak! Sandy, let's you and I be a pair, okay? We'll cover east and west, Jack and Makenzie can cover north and south!" When Sandy nodded in agreement with this, the two of them took off into the sky together, heading for the eastern horizon. The others watched them for a bit, then Jack turned to Makenzie. "Guess that means it's just you and me, 'Kenz," he said, and she smiled at him, giving a light laugh. "Yeah," she said, "guess so."

"Just give me one second, okay?"  
>"Yeah, sure. No problem."<p>

Turning to Elsa, Jack reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled something out that he kept hidden in his fist. He held it out to Elsa and uncurled his fist, revealing Clara's locket. "Here," he said, "hold onto this while I'm gone. Keep it safe so we can give it back to her once we've gotten them back, okay?" Elsa teared up as she nodded, taking the locket and holding it close to her heart. Jack cupped her face in his hand, making her look at him. "It'll be alright," he said quietly, "I promise. We'll get them back, princess, don't worry. These people will pay for taking them." Elsa wordlessly threw her arms around his neck, and for a moment, they just stood there embracing each other tightly until finally, Jack pulled away slightly to look at her and give her as reassuring of a smile as he could manage. "We'll get through this," he said, "I know we will. Just like we got through the Pitch-and-Hans thing." She smiled weakly at him and nodded. He kissed her, and then he turned and nodded at Makenzie, who unfolded her wings and flexed them.

And then they took off into the sky and were gone.

* * *

><p>"So," Makenzie said as they flew, "how did you and Elsa meet?" Jack laughed in response, shaking his head fondly. "Oh, boy, that!" he said. "See, there's this mountain near Arendelle, it's called the North Mountain, and she used her powers to build herself an ice castle up there. I was riding the winds one day and lost control, and I ended up crash-landing onto her balcony. I slammed up against the doors, she opened them, I was seeing triple, but man, I'll never forget the way the sun made her dress and cape glitter! You know, it was a memory of you that made me realize I loved her."<p>

"A memory of me?" Makenzie repeated. Now if that didn't sound interesting...  
>"Yeah," Jack replied, "of one time when we were babysitting Clara and she ran ahead of us even though I told her to stay where we could see her. And you said, 'Man, she sure is a fast little thing, isn't she?' And you wanted to know if you could ask me something, and I said that of course you could, you could always ask me anything. Remember?"<p>

"Oh yeah...And then you fell out of a tree later that day and nearly broke your leg! But how did that make you realize you loved Elsa?"  
>"Because," Jack said matter-of-factly, "after it was over, I suddenly remembered your name and how we grew up together and how I was gonna man up and tell you how I felt but never got the chance. You know...you have the same color eyes as her."<p>

"Do I? I...I guess I hadn't noticed."

There was a slightly awkward silence for a moment or so, then Makenzie said, "How old—" at the same time that Jack said, "When did—" and then they both laughed in embarrassment. "Sorry," Makenzie said, "you first."  
>"I was gonna ask when Clara died, is all," Jack replied. Makenzie blinked at him. "Oh, gosh," she said. "Um...I don't remember the exact year, but she was about eighty-something, so she lived a really good, long life, especially for that time period. Died in her sleep a few years after Gareth."<p>

"Well, I'm glad she didn't suffer or anything. What were you gonna say?"  
>"Hm? Oh, I was just wondering how old your kids are."<br>"Klaus and Clara are almost eight, and Lucia's six."  
>"What about their cousins?"<br>"Isaak's about three months younger than the twins, and Senetta recently turned five."  
>"Do any of them have ice powers like you and Elsa?"<br>"Only the twins, but Klaus is the one constantly freezing everything. Clara, not so much."

"Okay, this next one is maybe a little invasive of Elsa's privacy..."  
>"If it's not too terribly personal, I'll answer and take the blame myself. Shoot."<br>"I was just curious about how old she was when she died."  
>"Oh, well that's not so bad! She was twenty-one. She'd be about thirty-two now."<br>"Okay, wait. So...eleven years since she died, plus your oldest kids are eight—"  
>"Actually, it's been about twelve years. She has a late-in-the-year birthday."<br>"So that would mean that you've been married for...for..."  
>"A little under ten years now. We were together for about a year before I proposed."<p>

Makenzie was silent as she absorbed this new information, then was suddenly broken from her thoughts by the sound of Jack's voice. "Look, down there!" he said, pointing at something with his staff. "It looks like it might be our oak tree, let's go check it out." Without giving her time to respond, he changed course and began heading down towards the thing, Makenzie following close behind. When they were about ten feet off the ground, Jack threw his staff down, and it embedded itself into the snow so that it was standing upright, allowing him to land on it, perching lightly on top of the curved end on the balls of his feet. Makenzie landed not five feet away, folding her wings into their cloak appearance as she did so.

"Looks like an oak to me," she said.  
>"Yep," Jack agreed. "Let's see how close we can get before these spells do something, shall we?"<br>"Jack, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. There's no telling what might happen. Come on, let's just go meet back up with the others and—Jack, what are you doing?!"

Jack had, in fact, jumped down from his staff and was now walking towards the tree. "There's something carved on the trunk," he said, "but it's in Russian. I wonder..." He reached out to trace the letters, but as soon as his skin came into contact with the bark, an invisible force knocked him back, and he was just barely able to take control of the winds to hover above the ground before he ended up flat on his back with the breath knocked out of him. Then an angry female voice that seemed to come out of nowhere began screaming at them in Russian.

"Go back and get the others!" Jack said, holding his hand out and closing his fist around his staff when it flew over to him. He took up a defensive battle-ready position. "I'll stay here and handle this, go!" he said.  
>"Are—Are you sure?" Makenzie asked.<p>

_"Go, _'Kenz!" he shouted. Reluctantly, she turned and obeyed, hoping he would be okay by himself until she was able to bring everyone back.

* * *

><p><strong>OKAY, so in case you haven't figured it out, I'm about to bring another mythological creature in from Slavic folklore! Try and guess what it is, points if you get it right! Also, I decided that Elsa needed a "Guardian outfit," so I used that Snow Queen Scene Maker to create one. It keeps elements of the original ice dress, though, so don't worry. I posted it on DeviantArt and will put the link on my profile for anyone who wants to see it.<br>**

**Also, I THINK I got all the math right on the years between events and Elsa's age and everything, but correct me if I'm wrong, as math is not my strong suit. **

**And, okay, I know I haven't really given much of a description of 'Kenz, so I'll do that now to help you out a bit:**

**She's got long wavy strawberry blonde hair, eyes the same shade of blue as Elsa's, she is physically 19 years old, has pearly skin, and she wears a Juliet-esque dress. The dress is ivory with a sheer iridescent overlay on the skirt, which has a split in the front of it that shows rose pink fabric, and sleeves that go to the elbows with antique lace around the edges. The bodice comes to a point at the wast like Elsa's ice dress, and there's corset lacing in the front with faintly shimmering silver ribbons. Underneath the dress, she wears a single petticoat with lace at the bottom that peeks out from under the dress (like the dress on the sleeves, this is antique lace), and she wears Mary Jane pumps with a kitten heel and little pearls along the edge. (If you've ever read the book version of Wicked, you might recall that the Ruby Slippers had glass beads on the edge; this is what I had in mind with the pearls) Her wings are glittery and iridescent, and, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, she can hide them if she wants to by folding them around her shoulders, giving them the appearance of a rose pink cloak.**

**Yes, I can be overly-detailed and descriptive sometimes. **

**NO RAGRETS!**

**Um...yeah. So, I think that's it. Please remember to review, lest I send Jack and Elsa to freeze you! **


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Ok, so I got a review from Katherine the Fabulous freaking out over Makenzie being chosen as a Guardian, and I said, "I take it you remember her from the last one?" to which she replied that she did, and she didn't trust her, so I asked why. So then Katherine said that she just gets "a bad vibe" from 'Kenzie. Anyone else having feelings like this, and if so, why?**

**I DISCLAIM!**

* * *

><p>"Down there!" Makenzie cried, pointing at the tree from up in the sleigh. North quickly landed it nearby, and everyone scrambled out. Jack was bracing himself against a strong wind that seemed to only be affecting him, and that same female voice from before was screaming at him in angry Russian. "What's it saying?!" Makenzie asked, turning to North, who shook his head. "Bad things," he said, "very bad things."<br>"Tell it to shut up or something!" Elsa said.

North stepped forward, putting his arms up to prevent snow from flying into his eyes as he moved towards the source of the wind, speaking in Russian to the voice, which stopped after a moment, as if waiting and hearing him out. After another moment, it responded, and for a few minutes, North and the voice just went back and forth with each other like that. Then, the voice switched languages, probably thanks to something North had said to it.

"So," it said in a Russian accent, "you come seeking Koshchei's emerald heart." It chuckled, and something began to take shape near the oak tree. "So have many others," the voice said, and then, in the air beside the tree, they could see a beautiful young woman in a flowing dress with long hair, seemingly made entirely from wisps of air and mist. North gasped a bit, his eyes widening. "A Vila," he said.  
>"A what?" Elsa asked.<p>

"A Vila," he said quietly to her. "They are spirits from Slavic folklore, like nymphs in Greek myths, but not quite."  
>"Very good," the Vila said. Then she smiled, but it was sort of...menacing, for lack of a better word. "I am Anichka," she told them, "and I guard this tree. Why is it you seek the emerald heart?"<p>

It was Tooth who spoke up. "Because—"  
>"Not you," Anichka said, and then pointed at Jack and Elsa, who were now standing side-by-side. "Them. I sense it is them who want it most. Why is that, I wonder?"<br>"He took our children!" Elsa cried. "He and that sister of his, they kidnapped our children from their beds, we want them back, but we can't do that without the heart!"  
>"So you seek revenge," Anichka said. Jack and Elsa looked at each other, then back at the Vila. "That's not what we—"<p>

"But it is true, is it not? You seek to right a wrong that has been done to you?"  
>"That's not necessarily the same thing as revenge," Jack said, his grip on his staff tightening.<br>"Call it what you like," Anichka said. "It's all the same to me. Hm. Very well. I will let you have the heart."

"Thank y—"  
><em>"After <em>you prove yourselves."  
>"...And...how do we do that?"<p>

Anichka smirked. "You must go to the Underground Kingdom," she said slowly, "and bring me back the rings from each of the three Tsarevnas. Only three of you may go, however. The rest must stay here with me." Everyone looked around at each other as this sank in. After a few moments, Jack put his arm around Elsa's waist. "They're our kids," he said, "so we should both go. Who wants to come with us?"

"Who do you want with you?" Tooth asked. "They're your kids, it's your mission...You choose."  
>"We're not going to make someone come if they don't want to," Elsa said. "Whoever comes should do so of their own choice."<br>"I, for one, think North should go," Bunny said. "He's more likely to know where this Kingdom is than any of the rest of us are."  
>"The Underground Kingdom," North said, "is down a hole that is hidden under a rock somewhere along a path, guarded by a dragon. That is all the story tells us about it."<br>"I'm waiting," Anichka said. "Hurry up and make your choice. Time is running out."

"I'll go," Makenzie said suddenly, and everyone's head turned in her direction.

"Are you sure, 'Kenzie?" Jack asked. "I mean...We appreciate it, but you don't have to."  
>"I'm positive," she replied. "Jack, I...I can't explain it, okay, but I feel like this is something I'm meant to do."<br>Without warning, Elsa suddenly threw herself at the other girl, hugging her as if they'd known each other all their lives. "Thank you," the queen said. "You have no idea what this means to me. Thank you so much, Makenzie."

"It is decided, then," Anichka said. She began to make a motion with her hand, but before she could finish, North cried, "Wait!" Anichka froze as she and everyone else turned to look at him, the Vila with an annoyed expression on her face. North reached into one of his deep coat pockets and pulled out a snowglobe, holding it out to Jack. "So that you will be able to get back here when you return to the surface," he said. Jack smiled as he took the snowglobe and tucked it into the pocket of his hoodie. "Thanks, North," he said.

Tooth zipped forward and wrapped her arms around Elsa, who returned the hug. "Be careful," Tooth said.  
>"We will," Elsa replied, smiling as Baby Tooth gave her a kiss on the cheek.<p>

Bunny hopped up to Jack and put a paw on his shoulder. "Watch yourself, mate," he said. "No tellin' what kind of crazy Russian crap you'll run into out there."  
>"Yeah, no kidding," Jack said, rolling his eyes a bit. "Don't worry, though, I'm sure there won't be anything we can't handle. We're a pissed off mom and dad, remember? Anything that comes between us and our kids is gonna get a can of frozen-temperature whoop-ass opened on it, you should know that."<p>

Sandy pounded his fist into his palm, and Jack gave a nod of agreement. "Exactly my point," he said, then smiled when Sandy formed a picture of a four-leaf clover above his head. _Good luck. _Jack got down on the Sandman's level and gave him a hug that was one-armed and a little awkward since he was holding his staff in one hand. "Thanks, Sandy," he said.

Anichka rolled her eyes. "If you are done now," she said, not bothering to try hiding the impatience in her voice. Jack stood up to his full height with Elsa and Makenzie coming to stand on either side of him, all three of them facing the Vila together. "We're ready," he said. Anichka smirked, and with a wave of her hand, she sent a cloud of fog in their direction. It surrounded them, obscuring their vision, so thick that when Makenzie held her hand up in front of herself, she couldn't even see it. And then, just as suddenly as it was there, it dissipated and was gone.

Elsa blinked and looked around.

They were standing on a dirt path out in what seemed to be the middle of the Russian countryside.

"So what now?" she asked.  
>"Well," Jack said, "North mentioned it would be along a path, right? This must be it."<br>"So, what, we just start walking until we run into a dragon guarding a stupid rock?" Makenzie said.  
>"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears," Jack retorted with a shrug. Makenzie blinked, then sighed heavily. "Alright," she said, "let's just get this over with."<p>

And so they set off down the path, hoping against hope that this wouldn't take too long. The sooner they got the heart, the better.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so it's kind of a short filler chapter, I know, but don't worry, I FINALLY have my laptop back, so maybe that means that now I'll be able to get the chapters longer since I have my word program back now, yaaaay! Also, has anyone checked out Elsa's Guardian outfit yet? And if you have, what do you think of it? And again, like I said at the start of the chapter, give me your thoughts on Makenzie, why you do and don't like her, that sort of thing!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**I am SO sorry about the wait, my life's gotten crazy, especially now that rehearsals have started for my school's upcoming play! Um...I don't really have much else to say, so...yeah.**

**I DISCLAIM! **

* * *

><p>"God, my feet are killing me!" Elsa said. "This is absurd, we've been walking for over an hour and we've seen dozens of rocks, how could we not have gotten there by now?!"<p>

"I officially. Hate. Russia," Makenzie announced. She was pulling her cloak more tightly around herself and sort of hunched inwards against the wind. "I hate both of you guys, too," she added like an afterthought. Jack threw his head back and laughed. "You're just jealous!" he said.

"Jealous?! What reason would I possibly have to be jealous?!" Makenzie demanded.  
>"We can sunbathe in this weather!" he replied.<br>"Jack, we don't sunbathe," Elsa said matter-of-factly.  
>"Well, if we did, it would be in this weather," he countered, and she rolled her eyes.<p>

"We'll _never _find it at this rate!" Makenzie complained.  
>Jack tightened his grip on his staff, glowering at nothing in particular. "That's it," he said, "I'm goin' up in the air to see if I can spot this damn dragon." So that was exactly what he did. Without waiting for an answer from either of the girls, he shot into the air and looked around until he saw some sort of large beast curled up on the ground several hundred feet or so from where Elsa and Makenzie stood below, and he took note that whatever it was, it was laying among some rocks. Deciding that this must be their dragon, he went back down to the where the girls were waiting for him and smiled at them. "I have good news and bad news," he said, "which do you want first?"<p>

"Good news," they said simultaneously.  
>"The good news," Jack said, "is that it's not much further."<br>"And what's the bad news?" Elsa asked.  
>"The bad news is that we're gonna have to do some more walking."<br>"How much further are we talking here exactly?" Makenzie asked him.  
>"A few hundred feet or so at the very most," he replied with a shrug.<br>"Well, I'm sick of walking," she said. "I'm going to fly the rest of the way and meet you guys there."  
>"Suit yourself, I guess," Jack said. "We'll see you there, then."<p>

Makenzie unfolded her wings, flexed them out, then flapped them and went into the air. Jack held his hand out to Elsa. She took it, and they went on down the road together in a comfortable silence

* * *

><p>Makenzie was standing on the side of the road waiting patiently for Jack and Elsa with her wings folded into their cloak appearance. As they began heading in among the rocks that were there. Makenzie stopped behind one of them and held her arm out to signal to Jack and Elsa not to go any further. "The dragon is asleep," she said. "I don't—"<p>

"You have a strange idea of asleep, then," a voice said. Makenzie gasped as all three of them looked up to find the dragon looking down at them. He examined them for a moment while they just stood there staring up at him with wide eyes. "None of you feel human," the dragon said. "If not human, then what? Certainly no spirits I have knowledge of." After a moment, Jack managed to find his voice. "I'm the only spirit," he said. "We're Guardians."

"Guardians. Guardians of what?"  
>"Of the world's children."<br>"Who are you, Guardians? What do you seek?"

"My name is Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter, Guardian of Fun, and King of Arendelle. This is my wife, Queen Elsa, Guardian of Love, and our friend Makenzie, the Fairy Godmother. We've come in search of the Underground Kingdom. We were told to get the rings from the three Tsarevnas and bring them back to a Vila named Anichka in order to prove ourselves before she gives us Koshchei's emerald heart."

"You seek the emerald heart of Koshchei the Deathless," the dragon said. "Why would you want such a thing?"  
>"Koshchei and Baba Yaga kidnapped our children," Elsa said. "We need the heart to defeat him so we can get them back. Will you let us into the Kingdom or not?"<br>"That is not up to me," the dragon replied, and gestured to one of the rocks. "If you can move this rock," he said, "then you may enter the Kingdom. If you fail—"  
>"We won't fail," Jack said firmly, and then blasted the rock with a gust of icy air, sending it rolling to one side effortlessly, revealing a large hole underneath.<p>

He and the girls went to stand at the edge and peer down into the darkness. "What's down there?" Makenzie asked.  
>"The Underground Realms, of course," the dragon replied. "You seek the Tsarevnas, yes? Then you will be traveling to the Copper, Silver, and Gold Kingdoms. Shall I lower you down in the harness?"<p>

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Jack said. "We can get down on our own." Even as he spoke, Mazenie unfolded her wings and Elsa wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. Makenzie and Jack looked at each other, then she motioned towards the hole. "After you," she said.

"You ready, princess?" he asked.  
>"I guess," Elsa said quietly.<p>

"Hey. Are you alright?"  
>"Fine. Worried about the kids."<br>"I know. Don't worry, though, we'll have 'em back soon. I promise."

Having said this, he flew headfirst down the hole with Elsa on his back and Makenzie close behind. It went down hundreds and hundreds of feet, and Makenzie began to think that it would never end, but finally, after an eternity, it let out into a cavern, and they were able to land. Once their eyes had adjusted, they could see several passages leading off into darkness. "Look over there," Elsa said, pointing at one of them. "It's got a faint reddish glow."

"Oh, great," Makenzie said, "we've found the road to hell."  
>"Geez, 'Kenz, don't be so optimistic," Jack said sarcastically. "Elsa, sweetheart, what are you—"<br>"It's not red, you guys, it's copper!" she said, having approached the passage. "Remember what the dragon said? We would have to visit a Copper Kingdom! One of the Tsarevnas must be down this way, come on, let's go!"

Jack and Makenzie looked at each other, the latter shrugged, and then they followed the Snow Queen down the passage. After a while, they seemed to be back outside, walking in a wood of copper beech. They couldn't find the sun in the sky, and thick clouds hung over everything with a dull mist in the trees. Elsa looked at Jack and let out a small shriek, her hands flying to cover her mouth as her eyes widened. "Jack!" she cried.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!"  
>"You—You're turning all coppery!"<br>"Wait, what?!"

Jack stuck his hand out in front of himself, and sure enough, the skin was turning a copper color. "Elsa, it's happening to you, too!" Makenzie yelled, then noticed the hair that had fallen over her should and screamed. "Oh, God, it's happening to all of us!" she said. Elsa bit her lower lip, eyebrows knitted together as she watched the skirt of her dress turn copper. "Let's just find this Tsarevna and get out of here," she said finally, and began trekking through the trees with Jack and Makenzie close on her heels.

When they came out of the woods, the first thing they saw was a copper palace. The door opened and a woman came out, her copper clothing making odd metallic sounds as she walked. She smiled warmly at them and said something in Russian. The trio exchanged confused glances, then looked back at the woman. "Do you speak English?" Jack asked.  
>"Oh!" the woman said. "Forgive me, I didn't realize—Welcome to the Copper Kingdom. Come into the palace and tell me where you are from and where you are going."<p>

"Are you one of the Tsarevnas?"  
>"I am," the woman replied. And then she turned and began heading back into the palace. Not knowing what else to do, Jack, Makenzie, and Elsa followed her. "Tell me," the Tsarevna said, "what is it you seek, King and Queen of Arendelle?"<p>

The trio stopped short as Jack and Elsa exchanged a shocked look between them, then looked back at the Tsarevna. "How did you—"

"Oh, I know many things. But what I do not know is why you have come to the Underground Kingdom. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Olga."  
>"We came to prove ourselves," Makenzie said. "To a Vila. She won't let us have Koshchei's emerald heart until we bring her three rings from the three Tsarevnas of this Kingdom."<p>

"Ah, I see now. Koshchei and Baba Yaga have taken a child that is dear to you, haven't they?"  
>"Three, actually," Jack said. "Mine and Elsa's."<p>

Olga shook her head sadly, the look on her face pitying. "It is a terrible thing," she said, "to have happen." She took a ring off her finger and held it out to Jack. "This is the first ring," she said. "In order to get the others, you will have to visit my sisters, the Silver and Gold Tsarevnas, Katya and Vasilisa. You will visit Katya first, then Vasilisa, and she will tell you how to return to the surface world. I should warn you, though, that Vasilisa will not be as keen to help you as Katya and I. She may put you through a test before letting you have the ring, and whatever you do, you must not let her learn why it is you want the ring."

"Why not?" Makenzie asked.  
>"Because before Koshchei became Koshchei, he was Matvei. And when he was Matvei, he was human, just as my sisters and I once were. That is all I can say on the matter. You must go now, but before you do, know that they will not harm your children."<p>

"How do you know?" Elsa asked. Olga smiled at her.  
>"I know many things," she said. "Now go. Go!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>"The wind takes me up into her arms<em>  
><em>Wraps herself around me, away we go<em>  
><em>While outside the snows, they fall away<em>  
><em>Saying goodbye, goodbye to you<em>

_"I could be up there with the best of them_  
><em>Me, the clouds, and our shadows<em>  
><em>Chasing the sun<em>  
><em>Chasing the sun"<em>

Klaus turned over on his bedroll so that he was facing away from the girls, relieved that Clara had finished singing. He wasn't about to let either of his sisters see, but under these circumstances, the song had made him cry. Normally, their mom sang it to them, usually when they were having trouble getting to sleep. But this was different. This was Clara singing it to Lucia because she was scared. He wondered where Mom and Dad were right then.

Stupid tears. He hated them. He hated that they made him feel weak, and he hated how hot they were. Klaus didn't really like hot things very much, and neither did Clara. If it wasn't Mom, Dad, or Clara, even just hugging someone could be unpleasant for him because like the three of them, his body temperature ran lower than the average person's because of his powers. So yes, if tears were hot enough, they could be uncomfortable for him. And besides, he just didn't like crying in general because it made him feel weak, and he didn't like that, especially now when he had to be brave for the girls.

There was so much going through his mind that he thought he would never get to sleep, but he must have dozed off at some point, because the next thing he remembered was waking to the sound of adult voices arguing somewhere beyond the walls of the dungeon. He recognized two of them as belonging to the man and woman that had brought him, Clara, and Lucia to this place, though the woman was speaking much more loudly and more often than the man. The other two voices were also those of a man and a woman, but they were unfamiliar. Like North and their kidnappers, though, both spoke with a Russian accent.

"I can't believe you were so stupid, Veta!" the new woman was saying. "Do you _want _to be killed?!"  
>"I know what I am doing, Maria!" Veta snapped back.<br>"Clearly you don't!" the new man replied. "Their parents will be _furious _when they get here!"  
><em>"If <em>they get here!"

"Oh, they'll get here," Maria said, "believe me, they will get here! They're already in the Underground Kingdom!"  
>"That's not even going right way, they have no idea where they are going, clearly!"<br>"You know why they're in the Kingdom, Yelizaveta? Because that Vila of Matvei's told them to get the rings! If they get those rings, she'll give them Matvei's heart!"

"Vasilisa will not give hers up easy," Matvei said, "I know that. One benefit of that mess."  
>"Where are they?!" Maria demanded. "I want to see them for myself, where are they?!"<br>"In dungeon, where you think?!" Veta shouted back, and then there was silence. After a few moments, the door at the top of the stairs leading into the dungeon was thrown open, and four pairs of footsteps began heading down the steps. Klaus, Clara, and Lucia all grouped together into a little huddle on Lucia's bedroll in the corner, trying to make themselves as small as possible. "Okay, here's the plan," Klaus whispered. "Clara, you and me freeze everybody to the floor, and Lucia, you run for it. Me and Clara will follow you after we fr—"

He fell silent when four adult figures came into view. There was Veta and Matvei, of course, with their pitch black eyes and hair, and then there were the other two that the children had never seen before, a woman with auburn hair and dark eyes, and a man with dark brown hair and green eyes with stubble and thick eyebrows. He was big, but nowhere near as big as Matvei, and even though he was scary in his own way, there was also something about him that spoke of gentleness, sort of like how even though North was big and tough-looking, he was actually really nice and friendly.

For several moments, they all just stood there, the newcomers looking the three children up and down while the kids themselves stared wide-eyed at the two strangers, Lucia hiding behind her older siblings and peeking out nervously from behind Klaus, holding onto his arm with both of her hands. "Ugly little things, aren't they?" Veta said. "Especially that one. Look at that, her hair doesn't even go with her eyes, and she has ugly little mark on cheek."

"It's called a beauty mark, Veta," the auburn-haired woman said.  
>Klaus and Clara looked at each other, using that odd silent form of communication that only twins had to have a conversation with one another. Behind his back, Klaus began counting on his fingers.<p>

_One..._

"I still say you're crazy, Yelizaveta."

_...two..._

"No crazier than your husband is stupid."

_...three._

"How dare you—"  
>"Now, Clara!" Klaus shouted, and he and Clara blasted ice out of their hands.<p>

"Run, Lucia!" Clara said.  
>"Nooo, not without you guys!"<br>"This isn't the time, just go!" Klaus retorted.  
>"But Klaaaaauuuuuus! I don't wanna!"<br>"Lucia! We're not arguing about it, now _go!"_

Lucia pouted, but turned and ran out of the cell, the door to which had been left open. "Where do I go?!" she called behind herself.  
>"Get out of the castle and try to find help!" Clara shouted after her. It was only after several moments, once they were sure the ice was solid and not about to be easily broken or start to melt that the twins stopped blasting their targets. "Ha!" Klaus said. "Try getting out of <em>that!" <em>He turned towards Clara, who grinned and gave him a high-five before the two of them darted after their sister.

"Matvei!" Veta shouted. "Summon the Firebird, now! We can't let them get away!"

* * *

><p><strong>Klaus, now look what you did, you've pissed Veta off even more!<strong>

**...**

**Okay, so the song that Clara sings to Lucia is called _Chasing the Sun, _and it is done by Karan Casey. It's a truly beautiful song, and I love it, I highly recommend listening to it if you're able to and ever get the chance. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Katherine the Fabulous, you guessed it! I was gonna have Jack and Elsa freeze you until this chapter got posted so you didn't run off to tell anyone, but then I was like, "Eeeeh...she's not really the type who would do that, I guess I can leave her be, at least for now." **

**So just be aware that you got lucky this time, girlfriend! If you were anybody else, you might've been frozen in a block of ice!**

**And in other news, the plot thickens!...Sort of. I've been meaning to try and bring in some tension with the whole Jack/Elsa/Makenzie dynamic thing going on, but I just couldn't find a way to do, and then I finally did in this chapter, and then I couldn't bring myself to advance it, so I let it sort of fall through the cracks right after being introduced, and you'll know exactly where it happens and what I mean by that when you get to it, trust me. AAAAnd there's one other thing I wanna talk about, but I'll do it at the end because it kinda-sorta gives away part of this chapter. Nothing major or anything, but still. **

**UUUUmmm...Oh! I got a review (I think it was Katherine's, but don't quote me on that) referring to the Gold Tsarevna as "whatever her name is," and I just wanted to clear that up. Her name is pronounced vas-ill-is-a. One of the Baba Yaga stories from Russian myth is called Vasilisa the Beautiful, and the heroine of that story is, of course, named Vasilisa, and it's actually a rather common Russian name, apparently, so that's what made me pick it for the Gold Tsarevna. Also, if anyone would like to read the original Underground Kingdom story, let me know, and I'll be happy to link you to where I read it.**

**Also, last thing, who watched the season premiere of Once Upon a Time last night, how AMAZING was it?! *spastic fangirl mode, mostly over the Frozen aspects of it***

**I DISCLAIM!**

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><p>Toothiana sighed. She was hovering in the air positioned as if she were sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, chin resting in her hand and Baby Tooth perched on her shoulder imitating the pose. Bunny was leaning against the side of the sleigh with his arms crossed starting to doze out of boredom, Sandy was laying belly-down on his cloud using his finger to make swirling patterns of sand in the air in front of himself, and North was, once again, pacing around with a look on his face that managed to be both thoughtful and disgruntled at the same time. Anichka was nowhere to be seen, having made herself scarce shortly after sending Jack, Elsa, and Makenzie off to who-knew-where. Every now and then, however, her voice would come out of thin air and say something in Russian, to which North would sometimes reply, but most often ignore.<p>

"They've been gone an awful long time," Tooth said distractedly, "I hope they're alright."  
>"I'm sure they're fine," Bunny replied in a half-mumble. "Like Jack said, he and Elsa are a coupla pissed off parents, and that's the kind you really don't wanna mess with, 'specially when they can freeze you solid."<p>

"Oh, well sor-ee for being worried about my friends," Tooth retorted.  
>"Ay, ay, ay, will you all shut up already?" Anichka said as she materialized near the tree. "They are <em>fine, <em>trust me. I can sense that the first ring is no longer with the Copper Tsarevna, and unless there is somebody else who wants the rings, which I very much doubt, I would be willing to bet it is them that have it. As long as they have that ring, I will sense if anything happens to the one holding onto it. And you! What is all this pacing nonsense, why won't you stop that, it is highly annoying!"

"I need to get in contact with Ivan," North said, though he said it in a way that suggested he wasn't really replying to Anichka so much as he was thinking out loud. Anichka scowled. "Now you listen to me, old man," she said, "you are forbidden from contacting anyone, you hear? No outside help, and that means no contacting your friends, either!"

"Oh, now that just ain't right, mate," Bunny said, seeming to wake up suddenly.  
>"The rules are the rules," Anichka said, "and the rules clearly state no contact and no outside help. End of story. Now—"<br>Tooth let out a shriek suddenly, making everyone flinch as they covered their ears, or, in Bunny's case, grabbed them. "Lucia!" Tooth cried, her eyes wide and lit up with something akin to exhilaration. Sandy displayed several question marks over his head at once with a look on his face that suggested he was not asking, but demanding to know what was going on.

"She's alive!" Tooth said joyfully. "I know because her tooth just came out! You know, that lateral incisor that she's been wiggling around with her tongue for the past few weeks trying to get it loose enough to do that wiggle-wiggle-twist-pull trick of theirs! And if she's alive, that must mean the twins are, too! And that means that there's still hope! Jack and Elsa and Makenzie just have to keep going and not give up, and if they move fast enough, then there's still a chance we can save Klaus and the girls!"

In her excitement, she zipped over to Sandy and swept him into a twirling mid-air dance. North and Bunny both perked up considerably, and Anichka rolled her eyes at them all. _Let them have their moment, _she thought, _what's the point of telling them that their friends are on a pointless mission? Why tell them it can't be done when they'll find out for themselves soon enough? Yes, better to let them celebrate while they can since there will be no celebration later. Hmph. If they knew about Vasilisa, they would not be this way. Funny how that works..._

* * *

><p>"Great, now we're turning silver!"<br>"Oh, please, at least your hair still looks the same!"  
>"Jack, Makenzie, can we please just focus here?!"<p>

Olga had led them to a tunnel with a faint white light in it and told them that it led to the next of the three Kingdoms. After she'd wished them luck and left them, Jack had cracked some stupid joke about how usually you were supposed to head _away _from the white light at the end of the tunnel, and after rolling their eyes and groaning, the girls had begun the trek towards the light with Jack following behind saying, "What, too corny?" and then proceeding to make puns about the joke dying and him having killed it, the girls continuing to groan at the punniness the entire time until finally, they had emerged from the tunnel and Jack had at last fallen silent as they looked at their new surroundings.

They were standing in a gigantic cave, the roof appearing to be miles above their heads, and a ray of bright moonlight was shining down on a forest of silver birch from the roof of the cave. And, just as they had turned copper in the last one, they were turning silver in this Kingdom, though, as Makenzie had noted, Jack's hair looked exactly the same as it normally did, though perhaps a bit shinier.

They walked until they came out of the forest and found a palace at the edge of a shimmering silver sea. Soft silvery sand covered the cave floor, glittering stalactites hung down from the ceiling of the cave, and the only sounds were the sighing of the wind and the waves breaking on the shore. A woman who very much resembled Olga, save for the fact that she was silver rather than copper, came riding towards them on a white mare. They met her halfway, and after bringing the horse to a halt, she dismounted and smiled at them, bowing her head courteously.

"Welcome to the Silver Kingdom, Your Majesties," she said to Jack and Elsa. "I've been expecting you. My sister Olga contacted me to let me know you and your friend were coming. My name is Katya, and I am the second Tsarevna you seek. My condolences on the loss of your children. I hope you get them back safely."

"Thank you," Elsa said.  
>"I will give you my ring," Katya said, "but first, there is something you must know about my older sister, Vasilisa. I think perhaps you best come inside. I will have food and drink brought so that you may restore your energy while we talk."<p>

The trio followed Katya inside the palace, and she led them into a dining room. After instructing a servant to see that food was brought, she motioned for her guests to be seated, then sat down herself at the head of the table. She made small talk with them, asking where Makenzie was from and about their friends and about the rest of Jack and Elsa's family. When the food and drink was delivered, it was all silver, just like everything else, but Katya assured them that it tasted just like any other food they would find back home, and after Jack tested this and told the girls that it did indeed taste just like normal food, they all began eating, Makenzie and the two Guardians trying to be polite by waiting for Katya to be the one to bring up the subject of her sister, though inside, they were all growing increasingly impatient.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Katya put her silverware down and, in a very ladylike fashion, wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"Tsarevna?" Makenzie asked when she noticed this.  
>"Vasilisa," Katya said, "is very different from Olga and I. She is...bitter. Her heart once was gold like her kingdom, though in the metaphorical rather than literal sense. She was kind. Compassionate. A kind and loving soul. You could place your trust in her, and it was not difficult to earn her trust in return. But...she was also naive in some ways. She sometimes trusted <em>too <em>easily, for she wanted to believe that all creatures...all men...had goodness in them, even if it was deep down. She wanted to believe that people could change, if only they tried hard enough. And then she met...Then she met the Kovaleski boy."

"Wait," Elsa said. "Jack, isn't that what North said Yelizaveta and Matvei's last name was?"  
>"Holy crap, you're right, princess. So that must mean that—"<p>

"She loved him," Makenzie said suddenly, "didn't she?"

There was a long pause.

"Yes," Katya said finally as she lowered her head. "It was when we were all mortal—me, my sisters, and Matvei and Veta. All of us. Veta was always bitter from the start. Nobody, not even Matvei, really knew why. She was always full of hate and contempt. She hated the idea of them being together and was always on Matvei's back about it, but he always told Vasilisa that it didn't matter what Veta thought, or anyone else. He would tell her that nothing mattered except their love. He and Veta became immortal before my sisters and I did, and he trusted us, so he gave each of us our rings and told us to protect them, because in doing so, we were protecting him, because, you see, the chest holding the emerald heart cannot be opened without the rings. And in Vasilisa's case, he not only gave her the ring, he used it to propose to her. She said yes. He put us here in the Underground Kingdom and gave Olga the Copper Kingdom, me the Silver, and Vasilisa the Gold. He told us there were spells over the Underground Kingdom, spells that would make us immortal so that we could always guard the rings and so that he and Vasilisa could be together forever. He told us that he would not always be able to stay with us here, but he would come to be with us—with Vasiilsa—as often as he possibly could so that we did not grow lonely."

"But that's not how it turned out," Jack said, "was it?"  
>"No," Katya said. "No, it wasn't. He kept giving excuses for why the wedding had to be put off. 'Just a little bit longer,' he would say, 'then we will have the most magnificent wedding the world has ever seen, I promise.' Over time, his visits began to grow less and less frequent until finally, one day, he stopped coming altogether. Olga and I tried many times to convince Vasilisa that he wasn't coming back, but to this very day, she stubbornly clings to the belief that he will return one day and they will get married, just like he said they would. And it is for that reason that none of us can ever leave. You see, the spells that we are under, they...<p>

"Put quite simply, we cannot return to the world above unless it is with a man, and it must be to marry that man. But Olga and I cannot be taken as anyone's bride unless and until Vasilisa has been. Because she is the oldest, she _must _be the first of us to marry, and only after someone takes her as their bride can I be taken, and it is only after I have been taken that Olga can. If it does not happen in order from oldest to youngest, it does not happen at all. And because Vasilisa stubbornly believes that Matvei will one day return for her, she refuses to marry any man besides him. It is for that reason that I fear we will be trapped down here forever. Olga and I can barely even recall what the sky looks like, it has been so long since we've seen it."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Elsa asked.  
>Katya sighed heavily. "Because I fear that if Vasilisa finds out why you want her ring—Actually, no, I take that back. I doubt she will be at all willing to give it to you. Remember, it was given to her as an engagement ring, and in her mind, it has remained so. So you must be careful and tread lightly, you understand? Now, come. I will show you the way to the tunnel that leads to the Gold Kingdom."<p>

"We can't just leave knowing you're trapped here," Jack said. Katya smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said, "the spell will be broken and we will be able to leave once Matvei's heart has been destroyed and he is defeated. If you truly wish to help Olga and I, then the best thing you can do is leave and do exactly what you originally intended to do. But I thank you for your concern, Jack Frost. Here, take my ring. Now, come, let us go to the tunnels so that you may continue on your journey."

* * *

><p>The next tunnel they walked through was just as dark as the first two, though it didn't really seem to have a glow, unlike the others. However, after a while, they could see a golden glow up ahead. Soon after that, the tunnel ended, and they emerged into a cave even bigger than the previous two. Everything seemed to be bathed in a pure golden light, and for a moment, they all thought it was the sun, but when they looked up, they realized that while there was a bit of warmth, there was no sun anywhere in sight. (Looking back on it later, they would all agree that it was actually more reminiscent of the sunlight reflecting on water rather than of the sun itself.)<p>

"Oh boy," Makenzie said, "here we go again." Jack and Elsa didn't even have to ask what she meant, by that point already expecting and having resigned themselves to turn gold while in the third and final kingdom. Just as they had done twice previously, they walked until the woods ended and they found a palace. On the golden sands in front of this palace stood a woman who bore a resemblance to Olga and Katya, but who, while they were copper and silver, respectively, was gold, just as expected. "Ah," the woman said, "the King and Queen of Winter themselves grace me with their presence. How charming."

"Are you Vasilisa?" Jack asked.  
>"I am," the woman replied, "and I know why you have come. You cannot have it."<br>"We were told to expect as much," Elsa said, "but we were also told you might let us have it if we pass a test."

There was a pause.

"I might," Vasilisa said finally. "However, only one of you gets to perform it, and I get to pick which one and what the task is."  
>"Of course," Jack said. "That seems fair. It's your ring, after all, and we are in your kingdom. Just tell us who needs to do what."<p>

Vasilisa was silent for several moments as she studied them thoughtfully. Then she smiled and pointed at Makenzie. "You," she said, "must come clean, as they say."

"Come clean? About what?"  
>"You know exactly what."<p>

Makenzie's eyes went wide as she stiffened suddenly. Jack looked back and forth between the Tsarevna and his friend for a moment, a confused frown on his face. "'Kenzie," he said, "what is she talking about? What does she mean?"  
>"I shouldn't have come!" Makenzie cried suddenly, turning her face away from them.<br>"What are you talking about?" Elsa demanded. "Do you have any idea how much—"

"I don't _belong _here!" Makenzie interrupted. "I'm not Guardian material! And even if I was, I can't bear it! Seeing you and Jack, it's been almost too much for me! I'm in love with your husband, Elsa, okay?! There, I said it! I've been in love with him for over three hundred years, and I've spent most of that time thinking he was dead! Do you have any idea what that's like?! Fairy godmothers are supposed to bring people happiness, but how the hell am I supposed to make other people happy when I can't even make _myself _happy?! I hate you, I hate both of you, but I hate myself even more, and I hate myself _because _I hate you, but I can't make it stop, I can't help it! You're so damn happy together, and all I want is to be happy like you are, but I can't be because the man I've loved for more than three centuries is married to somebody else, and it's too much for me to take, I can't handle it! You see now?! The only reason I agreed to stick around and help you guys in the first place is because Jack wanted me to! If he hadn't asked me not to, I would've taken off back at North's workshop, that would've been the last you'd have seen of me! I can't do this anymore! I have to go home, I don't belong with you, I...I..."

And then she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

"I...Makenzie...I already knew you love him," Elsa said gently, placing a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Makenzie let out another sob, then sniffled as she looked up at the queen, her eyes still full of tears. "Y-You did?" she asked. Elsa nodded, and Makenzie frowned at her. "But...how?"

"I'm the Guardian of Love, what do you expect?" Elsa replied. "And besides, even if I wasn't, it's not that hard to tell. I mean, I've seen the way you look at him. It's the same way my sister looks at her husband. It's...It's the same way I look at him."

"And now," Vasilisa said, "it is his turn to confess."  
>Elsa blinked and turned to her husband. "Jack, what is she talking about?" she asked. Jack was looking down at the ground. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils and let it out slowly.<p>

"I...I loved her, too," he said finally. Elsa blinked. "But—But not anymore!" Jack said quickly when he saw the look on her face. "I mean...I did, once, a long time ago, but not anymore, I swear. Come on, princess, you know I've only got eyes for you."

"Wait, so you're saying you don't love me?" Makenzie said.  
>"What? No! No, that's not what I'm saying at all! I still love you! Of course I still love you! But I—Not like I used to, you know? Girls, come on, don't—Makenzie, you're my best friend, you always have been, three hundred years of not seeing each other isn't going to change that, nothing is. And Elsa, you're everything to me, you know that, don't you? I wouldn't have married you if I didn't love you as much as I did, we wouldn't be on this crazy mission because we wouldn't even have kids in the first place, you know that! Princess, you're what my universe centers around, you're what keeps my world in orbit, you are my sun, my stars, my mo—Well, okay, maybe not my moon, that doesn't really work given that we are what we are because of the moon, but that's not the point! The point is that I love you. Both of you. More than you'll ever know, more than I can ever say or put into words. I just...I love you both in different ways."<p>

There was a pause.

"Hm," Vasilisa said, "I suppose that will do. Now kiss."  
>"Wait, what?" they all chorused.<br>"You heard me," Vasilisa replied, "kiss. If you love that woman so much, then prove it. Kiss her with all your heart and soul. Or do you even have a soul, seeing how you are a dead thing?"

"How _dare _you?" Elsa demanded. "How _dare _you say such a thing about my husband? How _dare _you accuse him—" She never got to finish because Jack chose that moment to hook his staff around her waist and pull her over to himself, then drop it on the ground as he grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed his lips against hers, pouring everything he had into it, all his love and passion, everything he'd felt for her ever since the moment they'd first met nearly ten years ago on the balcony of the ice castle.

Makenzie turned her face away from the sight, only looking back at them when she heard them both gulp in air after separating from the lack of oxygen. Vasilisa slipped her ring off. "Here," she said, and tossed it through the air. Jack caught it as it sailed towards him, slipping it onto his right hand along with the other two rings. As he did this, Makenzie noticed his wedding ring—really noticed it for the first time. It was a band of white gold with three snowflakes engraved in it, the middle one with an aquamarine for a center and the ones on either side of it with diamonds. It didn't escape her notice that Elsa's matched; white gold with a snowflake that had an aquamarine center and diamond accents.

She gasped lightly, blinking back to reality as Jack nudged her with his elbow and made a subtle motion in Vasilisa's direction. "You will stay here," the Tsarevna was saying.

She was pointing at Makenzie.

"No!" Jack cried. "You can't do that!"  
>Vasilisa held her hand out. "Then give me back my ring," she said.<p>

"It's fine, Jack," Makenzie said. "I don't mind. Maybe it'll be better this way. You and Elsa will get your kids back, and I—"  
>"You'll what? Stay here and suffer for the rest of eternity? No. I don't think so. I won't sacrifice either one of you, you're coming with us."<p>

"No, Jack," she said stubbornly. "We've come this far, and I won't let everything be in vain. I won't let you and Elsa suffer the loss of your children any longer than is absolutely necessary, you know why? Because I can sense how much pain it puts you both through. Don't ask me how, I just can. And I can also sense how much joy it will bring you both to finally have them back, just like I can sense how much joy you bring to her and vice versa. Like I said, I don't know how I can sense these things, I just can, and if—I love you, Jack, and you love Elsa, and I'd rather stay here and let myself suffer than either one of you. Besides, your kids will be expecting both of their parents, not just one, and I'm not about to deprive them of the happiness that will bring. Fairy godmothers are supposed to make people happy, right? And while I admit that it doesn't seem fair for the fairy godmother to have to suffer in order for that to happen, if that's what it takes to be what I'm supposed to be, then that's fine. I'll make whatever sacrifices I have to to be the Fairy Godmother, especially if the people I'm bringing happiness to are you and the ones you care about. If that's what it takes, then I'm okay with that. Don't worry about me, worry about your kids, I'll be fine, honest. After all, I made it on my own for the past three hundred-something years, didn't I? Why should this be any different? In fact, it'll be better, because this time, I'll be making a difference by helping the person I care about more than anything in the world. Like I said, don't worry about me, just worry about getting your kids back. I'll be alright. I promise."

It was clear from the look on his face that Jack was struggling with several emotions all at once, but one thing that stood out was how touched he was. "We'll come back for you," he said finally, his voice thick with emotion. "No matter what happens, however this turns out, I promise, we'll come back for you as soon as we possibly can."

"Jack's right," Elsa said, "after everything you've done to help us, we're not just going to leave you. The minute we're able to—"  
>"Worry about that later," Makenzie told her. "Right now, just focus on getting back to the others and saving the kids. Now go, get out of here before she changes her mind."<p>

As they turned to leave, Jack looked back over his shoulder and mouthed three words to Makenzie:

_Wait for us._

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><p><strong>Okay, so that thing I wanted to wait until the end about! It involves Jack and Elsa's wedding rings, and it's actually technically two things. The first thing is that the links to them are already on my profile, but the blue gems are paler than they are in the images you'll be taken to, because it's not the same kind of gem that I used in my description(s). Second, if you have not already read it or were not aware, I posted a one-shot the other day of Jack and Elsa's wedding, and it's called Wintertime Love, so if you're interested, be sure to go and check that out. Rapunzel and FlynnEugene both make cameos just like they did in Frozen, and Merida (and her wee devils—um, I mean little brothers!) gets mentioned in it, so yeah. **

**Um...I think that's about it, so...yeah. I'm sick, so I'm about to go work on the next chapter, and again, Katherine, good job, girl, you totally called it! (Also, I love your reviews, yours are always some of my favorites to read.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: This one is sort of a short filler chapter, but don't worry, things are going to pick up next chapter. Also, remember the people that got frozen to the ground with Veta and Matvei when the kids made their prison break? ;) **

**And when I mention Elsa's belt at the beginning here, I'm talking about the belt thing that's on her Guardian outfit, which, again, is linked to on my profile, so if you don't know what I'm talking about, I would suggest going to look at it, okay? Also, just a forewarning, there is cussing in this chapter, but it's only one word and it happens pretty early, so it's nothing too terribly bad, but I wanted to warn you just in case. :)**

**I DISCLAIM!**

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><p>Jack and Elsa walked back through the Silver and Copper Kingdoms in silence. Katya and Olga were both standing on the steps of their respective palaces when the pair went past, and each Tsarevna nodded to them with a solemn look on her face, and they nodded back both times. When they emerged back into the original cavern, Elsa put her arms around Jack's neck from behind, and he flew back up the long tunnel to the surface. The sudden brightness of daylight made it difficult for him to see and forced him to land immediately after coming up. For a few moments, he and Elsa just stood there by the hole, blinking as they waited for their eyes to readjust. Once they had, Jack smiled at Elsa. "You're back to normal," he said. Elsa looked at herself, then at her husband. "So are you," she replied.<p>

Sure enough, Elsa's hair had gone back to its platinum blonde, her dress back to a glittering icy blue, and Jack's pants had gone back to their normal brown while his hoodie had returned to a dark navy with frost on it in certain places. In fact, the only traces of gold, silver, or copper anywhere on them were their wedding rings, the three rings from the Tsarevnas, Jack's hair, Elsa's silvery belt, and Clara's locket, which Elsa was wearing so it wouldn't get lost. Just the way it should be.

The dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Jack pulled out the snowglobe North had given him, reaching out towards Elsa with his other hand, even though it held his staff. She came and took his arm as he threw the snowglobe down and the portal opened.

"Let's go get our kids back," Jack said, and with that, they stepped through the portal together.

* * *

><p>"I am telling you, Bunnymund, they—" North stopped short when a portal opened suddenly and Jack and Elsa stepped through with Makenzie strangely absent. Tooth was all over the pair in two seconds flat with her rapidfire chatter.<p>

"Did you get the rings? What were the Tsarevnas like? What was the _Kingdom _like? Where's Makenzie, did you lose her, or did she lose you? Was there really a dragon? What was _it _like? Was it really big and scary and wanna eat you and—"

"Toothiana!" several people chorused, and she fell silent, looking a bit embarrassed with herself. Anichka appeared in the air in front of Jack and Elsa. "Well?" she said. "Did you get the rings, or not?"

"We got them," Jack said, holding up his hand to show her. "The last one was a bit of a bitch, but we got them."  
>"Give them to me, then, and I will retrieve the chest for you," Anichka replied. Jack handed his staff to Elsa, who held onto it for him while he slipped the rings off one by one—first Olga's, then Katya's, and finally, Vasilisa's—then dropped them into Anichka's outstretched hand. Her fingers closed around them and she turned, heading over towards the tree. "It may take a little while to lift all of the spells protecting it," she said over her shoulder, "feel free to share your tale of heroic triumph with your friends while I work on it."<p>

Jack and Elsa wandered over to the sleigh, the former leaning his back against it and then sliding to the ground and hanging his head as he laid his staff down beside him. Elsa sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder, curling against him a bit more when he put his arms around her. Tooth and Bunny exchanged a look, then everyone went over to the couple. "Guys," Tooth said, "you're kinda starting to scare me a little. What happened, where's 'Kenzie?"

And so they told the others everything, from the long walk down the path until they finally found the dragon, to their meeting with Olga, then recounting the tale that Katya had told them and about the curse over the three sisters, and finally, how Vasilisa had made Jack and Makenzie to pour their hearts out to each other and Elsa, then made Jack kiss Elsa before she would hand over the ring, and how, even after that, she still wasn't satisfied, and how Makenzie had been so willing to stay behind and sacrifice her own happiness all for the sake of them being reunited with their children.

"Wait," Bunny said at the end, "so that's it? No more Makenzie? We're just gonna leave her down there and pretend she never helped us or got chosen or anything? I don't care what this Vasilisa person says, and I don't care what Makenzie said about it, either, we can't do that!"

"You think I'm about to give her up so easily?" Jack demanded, standing up suddenly so he could look Bunny in the eyes. "No, never. I wouldn't have done that when we were human, I'm not about to do it now, either, and you're crazy for even thinking it, Aster. Like I told her down there, I still love her. I always have and always will, nothing is ever going to change that. It may be in a different way, but I love her every bit as much as I love Elsa. I could never let either one of them go that easy, I'm not giving her up without a fight. I promised her that the very minute we're able to, we would go back for her, and that is _exactly _what is going to happen. Once we get Lucia and the twins back, as soon as they're safe, all six of us are going to go back to that Underground Kingdom, march right up to Vasilisa's palace, and make it clearer than clear that we will not leave without Makenzie, and if we end up having to fight for her, then so be it."

Bunny opened his mouth to respond, but never got the chance because suddenly, from the direction of the tree, there was a bright glow that made all of them have to shield their eyes. When they were able to look, they all turned to find Anichka floating towards them with an old-fashioned chest in her hands. The lid was open to reveal an astonishingly clear, unbelievably flawless emerald roughly the size of Jack's fist nestled into the velvet lining, and it was, as they fully expected it to be, a perfect heart shape.

For a moment or so, they could only stare wide-eyed in awe.

"Take it," Anichka said, breaking the trance. "Go on."  
>"That's...That's it?" Elsa asked. "We can just have it? No more tasks or anything, just take it and be gone?"<br>"You have done as I asked and proven yourselves," the Vila replied, "and I certainly have no use for it. So take it."

After a brief hesitation, Jack stepped forward and took the heart from the chest, which Anichka then closed. For some reason, he was only vaguely surprised to find that the gem was warm to the touch, though not so warm that it was terribly unpleasant for him.

"There are a few things you should know about the heart," Anichka said, setting the chest down on the ground beneath the oak tree. "First of all, while it is said that whoever possesses the heart will have Koshchei in their power, that is not true. What happens instead is that over time, he will begin to weaken, become sick, and even, if it is held by someone long enough, lose his powers. However, it takes quite a while before this begins to happen. I would say that you have about a month, maybe two before this begins, so if you mean to surprise them, do it before then so that they do not suspect you have the heart, you understand? Also, the stories say that it must be broken in order to kill him, and in one story, it even specifically mentions it being thrown against his forehead, but that does not work. It must be destroyed by a particular method to work. You must stab it with this."

She drew something from within the folds of her gown and held it out. It proved to be a dagger with a jewel-encrusted ivory hilt in a plain leather scabbard. She held it out hilt-first to Jack, who took it from her, opening his mouth as he did so. "I know, I know," she said, "it seems like an impossible thing to damage something like the heart with just a dagger, but I promise you, it will work. You must remember that this is no ordinary gemstone, and be aware that this is also no ordinary dagger. And one of you, King and Queen of Winter, will also have to do something about the Firebird."

"A phoenix, you mean?" Tooth asked.  
>"No. The Firebird and and a phoenix are two different things. I am sure your big friend here can tell you all about the Firebird."<p>

"What about Baba Yaga? What can be done about her?" Jack asked.  
>"Once Koshchei has been defeated," Anichka said, "she will not be as difficult. You see, half their power relies upon the other, so if one dies, the other is left with their magic depleted significantly. There is no specific method I know of that will help you with her, but I am sure you will think of something. Just be sure that no matter what you do, you take Koshchei out first."<p>

"Thank you," Elsa said.  
>"Oh, wait, I almost forgot!" Anichka cried, and then she flew over to Jack and took his face between her hands, planting a kiss on his forehead as Elsa watched in obvious displeasure. "There," the Vila said when she was done. "Now you will know how to get to the castle from here...and back to the Underground Kingdom to save your friend."<p>

"Thank you, Anichka," Jack said as everyone began piling into the sleigh. He and Elsa sat in the back, and as they took off, he reached over and took her hand in his, giving it a firm but gentle squeeze. They looked at each other, and for the first time since finding the children gone from their beds back in Arendelle, Jack saw a spark of hope in his wife's eyes.

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Jack shouted. He was pointing at a building on the ground that was most definitely a castle. North landed the sleigh in the cover of the trees surrounding the meadow it was in, and once Bunny had recovered from his typical post-landing trauma, North, Sandy, and Tooth turned around in the front seat so that they were facing Jack, Elsa, and Bunny in the back. "Okay, so what's the plan?" Tooth asked, her violet eyes wide with anticipation.<p>

"I say we just storm in there, guns a-blazin' and take 'em out!" Bunny said eagerly.  
>"Too obvious," North said. "Needs to be more subtle, I think. What if we look for a—"<br>"No secret passages and no sewers!" Tooth interjected. "Sewers are nasty, and—What, Sandy?!"

As soon as everyone's attention was on him, Sandy pointed at Jack and Elsa, raising his eyebrows in an almost questioning manner, as if to remind everyone whose kids they were there to save.

"No," Bunny said firmly. "Nope, no sir. Last time we let Jack make a plan for something this big, Kristoff ended up hurt, Anna almost died, and Elsa _did _die, no _way _am I letting him be responsible for this sort of thing again, not after that whole mess! Either someone else does it, or—"

"Dammit, Bunnymund, it's been almost eleven years since that happened!" Jack cut in. "Why can't you just get over it already?! In fact, if anyone should still be hung up on it, it's me! Out of the two of us, who suffered more when it happened, huh?! At least you didn't lose the girl you were in love with! If I can get on with it after suffering as much as I did because of that, then you should be able to, also!"

"Why, you little—"  
>"Calm down, both of you!" Elsa said. "What happened was nobody's fault but Pitch's, we established that a long time ago, so let's just forget about it and focus on the here and now, alright?! Now listen...I think the best course of action would be for Jack, Tooth, and Sandy to—"<p>

"Nicholas St. North," a voice said. Everyone turned. Standing several feet away were a man and a woman. The woman had auburn hair and dark eyes, and the man was big with dark hair, thick eyebrows, stubble, and green eyes. North's eyes lit up when he saw them, and he clambered out of the sleigh to go and greet them. "Ivan, Maria!" he said. "I have never been more happy to see you in my life!" He gave the woman a big hug, then shook the man's hand in a way that very clearly said this was someone he had met before.

After exchanging greetings in Russian, the woman looked over at the others, who were all watching from the sleigh. "So these are your Guardian friends," she said. "Quite a colorful bunch, aren't they? Hello, everyone. North here has spoken very highly of you to my husband and I. It is nice to finally meet you all in person."

"Everybody," North said, "this is Maria Morevna and her husband, Ivan Tsarevich. They are both in Russian myth, this is Maria's castle! Maria, Ivan, this is—"

"We know who they are, North," Ivan said. "Your descriptions alone are enough to tell us."  
>"Oooh, oooooh!" Tooth said, waving her hand around in the air. "What's my name, do you know that?"<br>"Of course we do," Maria replied, smiling calmly. "You are Toothiana, no?"  
>"Ooooh, they're good," Tooth said to Elsa, who giggled as she rolled her eyes a bit.<p>

"If this is her castle," Jack said suddenly, "and Yelizaveta and Matvei are using it, wouldn't that mean that—"  
>"We are friends with them? Good heavens, no. We hate them, Veta and I cannot stand each other. We only let them use it from time to time because of a debt that is owed from a long time ago. And if you're worried about us being on their side, well, then, like I said, Veta and I cannot stand one another, so that is no problem, either."<p>

"Ivan," North said, "Maria, you must help us. We—"  
>"We know why you are here, Nicholas," Maria said. "We've been expecting you, in fact. Yelizaveta does not believe you will come for who-knows-what reasons, and Matvei, as always, is too stupid to have his own opinion on the matter, but Ivan and I have been expecting you." She paused, looking at Jack and Elsa. "We saw your children," she said. They both started.<p>

"Are they okay? They're not hurt, are they?" Jack demanded.  
>"They're all fine," Maria said. "They tried to escape. Froze us to the ground where we stood, the clever little things. Veta wanted to punish them for it after catching them, but I managed to talk her out of it, though how I did that, I'll never know. The woman does not see reason, barely even knows what it is. But that is not the point. The point is your children are fine. Frightened, I'm sure, but unharmed. Now listen. Veta and Matvei do not know that we are on your side, they believe us to be neutral in this conflict. Ivan and I have an idea of how to use this to an advantage in order to help you, but you all must do exactly as we say, you understand? Listen closely."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Do you see now why I ended this chapter where I did? lol. Um...I don't really know what to say right now, to be honest. Wait, that's a lie, there is something!<strong>

**I'm thinking of maybe doing another story after this one and making it a trilogy. I'd have to come up with the plot and everything if I do, but I was just wondering if you guys would be interested in that. I can think of two people off the top of my head who most likely would, but I wanna know if there's anyone else. If a lot of people review encouraging me to do it, then I will, I'll just have to think up a plot and everything before I start writing it, obviously, lol. **

**So yeah. Let me know if that's something you'd be interested in. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, wow, this turned out shorter than Let the Storm Rage On, that's...I expected them to be about the same length, but apparently I'm going to end up falling a couple chapters short, lol! Anyway, I've decided that I will, in fact, be doing a third story and making this a trilogy, and Katherine the Fabulous has graciously offered to help me come up with a plot, which I am taking her up on, though I do know that I want it to involve Jamie Bennett somehow. **

**Um...Be aware that this is NOT the last chapter, there's still at least one more to go, not including the epilogue, but I think that that and the next chapter are going to be rather short, because the next one is really just wrapping things up before moving on to the epilogue, which I THINK is going to turn out longer than the one for Let the Storm Rage On. **

**Also, anyone who catches the Phantom of the Opera reference in this chapter gets major points and a cookie! Here's a hint: in POTO, the Phantom says it, and it's from The Final Lair. **

**I DISCLAIM!**

* * *

><p>Jack and Elsa followed Maria and Ivan silently. Their hands were bound, and Jack's staff was missing. They kept their heads hung as they were led across the castle's drawbridge into the main courtyard. A door opened somewhere, and from a balcony overhead, they heard a male voice say something in Russian, then the door closed. After another few moments, a pair of massive double doors opened, and a woman came out trailed by a man who looked nearly identical, both of them with high cheekbones, black eyes, and black hair. The woman's features were sharper than the man's, though, the angles of her face harsher and more pronounced. It looked like her lips were thinner, also, though it was a bit hard to tell since the man had a beard that sort of hid his mouth a little.<p>

"So this is great Jack Frost and wife," the woman said, her thick Russian accent making her a little difficult to understand. She sneered. "Pathetic. Ivan, Maria, I see you picked right side after all. I knew you would come around." There was a pause. "Matvei," she said finally, _"vyvesti ikh iz." _The man gave a single nod, then strode over to another door and opened it. Immediately, the courtyard was filled with three voices chattering all at once. Then one of them rose above the other two.

"MOMMY!"  
>"Lucia!"<p>

The little girl rushed forward, a smile on her face and her arms open for a hug, but before she could reach her parents, Matvei grabbed her by the back of the collar. Jack glared at the Russian. "You put my daughter down right now, you hear me?!" he shouted. "I swear, if you hurt one hair on her head, I'll kill you myself, I'll turn you into an ice sculpture, I'll—I'll freeze your heart!"

There was a beat of silence, then Matvei and Yelizaveta both began to laugh. "Foolish boy," Matvei said, "my heart cannot be frozen."  
><em>"Anyone's <em>heart can be frozen," Jack said threateningly. "Now put. Her. _Down. _I'm serious. You two picked the wrong dad to piss off, and I have had it up to here with this bullshit, so either you put my daughter down right now, or you suffer my wrath, and believe me, that will _not _be pretty."  
>"What can you do?" Yelizaveta said tauntingly. "You cannot possibly hope to win. Your hands are bound and you are outnumbered."<p>

"Wanna bet?"

A boomerang went flying through the courtyard, rebounded off a wall, and whacked Matvei in the back of the head before returning to its owner. "Bunny!" the kids cheered.

"Hang on, ya little ankle-biters, we're gonna get you outta here!"  
>"Matvei! Forget the girl, get the rabbit!" Yelizaveta shouted. Matvei sneered in Bunny's direction, dropping Lucia on the ground and charging, but Bunny thumped his foot and at the last possible second, leapt into the hole that opened in front of him, then popped up behind the angry Russian. "Gotta move quicker'n that, mate!" he said.<p>

Just then, Tooth came swooping down out of the sky with a bunch of mini-fairies following her, Baby Tooth in the lead. Ivan turned to Jack and Elsa and gave a nod, then watched as their restraints began to ice over, then shatter from the cold.

"Jack, catch!" Tooth called, and tossed something down to Jack, who reached up and caught it. As his fingers closed around his staff, he and Elsa turned so they were standing back-to-back, both of them in battle-ready defensive positions. "Kids, get somewhere safe!" Jack said. Klaus and Clara looked at each other, then grabbed Lucia by the hands, turned, and ran off out of sight.

"You think they'll be alright?" Elsa asked.  
>"Eh, don't worry, they'll be fine," he replied.<p>

"Matvei! Get the Firebird!"  
>"Jack, Elsa, that's your cue!"<p>

North had barely gotten the words out when a big bird the color of flames came out of practically no where and rammed into Tooth, knocking her out of the air. "Ow!" she cried, rubbing her shoulder. "Why that stupid...Take that thing out, you guys! Freeze its tailfeathers off!" Even as she spoke, Elsa began blasting the bird with frost and ice until its wings were so weighed down by frozen matter that it was forced to land, allowing Elsa to then freeze its feet to the ground and create a band of ice around its beak.

Jack looked at Elsa, and she nodded.

"Matvei!" Jack shouted. The Russian turned, suddenly forgetting about his futile attempts to catch Bunny and instead glaring at the Winter Spirit, his expression slowly turning to one of horrified realization as Jack drew the emerald heart from his hoodie pocket and held it up. He handed his staff to Elsa and pulling the dagger out. As Matvei ran towards him, Jack knelt on the ground and set the heart down in front of him, then drew the dagger from its scabbard, holding it with both hands around the hilt above the heart.

He brought it down.

_"No!"_

As soon as the tip of the dagger's blade touched the emerald, cracks spread across the surface of the gem with light seeping out of them. Yelizaveta, who was busy with Tooth, glanced over and did a double-take, her eyes widening as she suddenly realized what was happening. She looked at her brother as he collapsed to his knees and fell to the ground, his black eyes distant and glassy. Everyone was frozen in place by that point, all of them watching in an odd fascination. As Matvei's body began turning to dust and blowing away in the wind, Yelizaveta suddenly cried out, one hand flying to clutch at her chest as she fell to her knees and all eyes moved over to her.

Seeing her chance, Tooth got up off the ground and hovered over the Russian woman, poised to strike, but Bunny grabbed her raised fist from behind. "Calm down, featherball," he said, "it ain't our fight anymore."  
>"So, Jack," Elsa said, "what do you think we should do with her?"<p>

Yelizaveta laughed. "You think I'll give up so easy?" she said. "Bah! Matvei was weak. His love for that girl made him that way!"  
>"I <em>knew <em>it," Elsa said. "You're the reason he never went back for her, aren't you? You're the reason those girls have suffered for so long!"

The Russian laughed again, then in a puff of smoke, was gone. Elsa turned and saw her running out of the courtyard and across the drawbridge. "Follow her, don't let her get away!" the queen cried, and the Guardians all spurred into motion. Jack went zipping through the air as fast as he could, then suddenly got thrown off course by a huge gust of wind that came out of no where. He went tumbling through the air, his staff flying out of his hand in the process, then landed in the nearby brush. After getting up and picking the leaves and twigs out of his hair, he looked to see what had happened and gasped.

"Makenzie?"

* * *

><p>Vasilisa gasped. "No," she said. "Matvei...Matvei, my love, no!"<br>Makenzie sat and watched as the Tsarevna was reduced to tears within a matter of mere minutes. "You!" she shouted suddenly, whirling on the Fairy Godmother, who gasped in surprise. "Your friends, what did they do with that ring?! Tell me, now, before I—"

"I am so, _so _sorry," Makenzie said. "Truly. But we had to do it. He and his sister kidnapped their children, we had to save them, it was the only way. I am so sorry, Vasilisa. You truly have no idea how sorry I am that we had to do this to you. We had no choice."

"...Just go. Get out of my sights, go. Leave me be, let me suffer in peace. Go! Go now and leave me!"  
>Makenzie turned to leave, but paused on her way out and glanced over her shoulder, "Thank you," she said.<p>

"For what?" Vasilisa asked.  
>"For helping me find my center."<p>

* * *

><p>Makenzie stood over a fallen Yelizaveta, her wings out and moving subtly. She held her head high and gazed down at the Russian woman past half-lowered eyelids, her posture straight and proud. Jack held his hand out and his staff flew into it, then he rushed to join the others as they all ran up to where Makenzie and Yelizaveta were.<p>

"Makenzie, how—"  
>She held up a hand, and Jack fell silent. "So you're the Yelizaveta person that's caused us so much trouble," Makenzie said. "I could do a lot of bad things to you right now, you know. But I'm not going to. You know why? Because I'm not the one whose kids you took. That was my friends. So I'm going to let them decide what should be done with you. But if they choose to let you live, and I ever find out that you've caused anyone to suffer again, then I promise you now, you will be hearing from me, and it will not be a pleasant visit. Jack, Elsa. I believe you have some unfinished business with this woman."<p>

Everyone turned to look at the pair. They stared down at Yelizaveta intently, and she stared right back past mussed black hair. "Go ahead," she spat, "do your worst. I am not afraid. You are weak, both of you, just like my brother. You think I will be bothered by a little cold? Ha! I am from Russia, I live in snowdrifts up to your waist and then some!"

"Who the hell do you think makes those snowdrifts?" Jack said, then smirked. "Funny," he said, "the cold never bothered us, either." His face grew serious again. "You've caused us a lot of grief, you know that? You take our children from their beds in the middle of the night, you bring them all the way to Russia, lock them up. Someone once asked me if hell freezes over when the Spirit of Winter gets mad. Well, guess what? I'm beyond mad, and hell is definitely freezing over. So now the question is...What should we do with you? Do we seal you up with the Boogeyman, let you two keep each other company? Or is that too merciful after what you put us through? What do you think, princess?"

"Sealing her up with Pitch is too merciful," Elsa said. "You think about what North said, how they've been kidnapping children for centuries...I would never want someone else to go through what we went through. As a mother, there are just certain things that I would never, _never _wish on another woman, and the pain of losing her children is one of those things. It's something that no mother should ever have to go through. If we let her go, who's to say that she won't just start kidnapping again? It's not a chance I'm willing to take. After what she did, she deserves to be punished."

"Hear hear!" Tooth said.

"Well, glad to see we're on the same page," Jack said. "And it just so happens that I've got an idea of what we can do with her." He leaned over and whispered something in Elsa's ear that made her face light up. She nodded in agreement with whatever he'd said, then knelt down in front of Yelizaveta, and as the Russian lifted her head to look at her, the queen reached out and touched the other woman's chest, doing something with her powers that made Yelizaveta cry out, one hand flying to the place that Elsa had touched as the queen stood back up.

"What...What did you do to me?" Yelizaveta asked.  
>"The same thing I accidentally did to my sister eleven years ago," Elsa replied. "I froze your heart. Your hair will start to turn white while your body temperature begins dropping. Eventually, you'll freeze to solid ice. Only an act of true love can save you. Good luck finding someone to perform that act."<p>

As everyone turned and began heading back to the castle to retrieve the kids, Maria paused and glanced back, smiling over her shoulder. _"Do svidaniya, _Yelizaveta," she said, then turned, went to where Ivan was waiting, took his hand, and together, they began following the group.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so that thing that Maria said to Veta in Russian at the end there means "goodbye," and I learned it from the movie Anastasia when Anya says it to Rasputin towards the end. It's pronounced "das veedanya."<strong>

**Also, who liked what I ended up doing with Veta?  
>I dunno how that idea came to me, I was in the middle of writing the fight in the courtyard, and I got as far as Jack about to stab the heart, and as I was writing, my brain was like, "Okay, so how to kill Veta...?" and then next thing I know, it's like, "Wait, what if they freeze her heart?!" and I was like, "...Oh my god, I've just been hit with a stroke of genius. It's perfect!" So that's what I ended up doing.<strong>

**AAAAAAnd, I believe that's it, so I'll go work on the next chapter so we can wrap this up! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Okay, I decided no epilogue, this chapter is sort of going to double as the last chapter as well as an epilogue, and yes, it's very short, but there's really nothing left for this story but what's in here, so...*shrugs* **

**I DISCLAIM!**

* * *

><p>"MOMMY, DADDY!"<p>

Jack threw his staff aside as he and Elsa ran forward to meet their children halfway, both of them falling to their knees so they were on the kids' level as Klaus and his sisters threw themselves into their parents' open arms. "Oh, thank Manny you're safe!" Elsa cried. "Are you okay, did they hurt you? Oh, we were so worried!"

"They're adorable," Makenzie said as she and the others watched the reunion.

"Hey, 'Kenz, c'mere!" Jack said. She smiled and went over to him as he stood up. "I want you to meet them," he said. "This is Klaus and his twin sister Clara, and this is Lucia. Kids, this is Makenzie. She and I have known each other for a looooong time."

"Are you a Guardian, too?" Lucia asked.  
>"No, I'm not," Makenzie replied, "but if it's okay with everybody else, then I'd like to be."<br>"You see?" Jack said. "I knew you'd change your mind sooner or later."  
>"I finally figured out my center," Makenzie said, "and it never would have hit me if I hadn't stayed behind."<br>"Well?" Tooth asked. "Don't keep us waiting! What is it?"

Makenzie smiled at Jack and Elsa, feeling as if she owed her discovery to them.

"That's easy," she said. "It's joy."

* * *

><p>"Will you, Makenzie Harrison, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."<p>

"I will."

After North had closed the book and taken a step back, Jack came up from beside him and went to stand right in front of Makenzie, one hand holding his staff and the other in his hoodie pocket. "Welcome to the family, 'Kenz," he said, and from inside his pocket, he took out a _babushka _doll that looked like her. She smiled as she took it from him.

"Glad to be part of it, Jack."

* * *

><p><strong>Yaaaaay! Okay, so, um...yeah, that's really it, there's like nothing left to say here. I hope you enjoyed the story. :)<strong>


End file.
